


She had the world

by Timeclones



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: Crushes, Developing Relationship, Endgame, Eventual Smut, F/F, Femslash, Holidays, Love, Shipping, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-22 13:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 20
Words: 44,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/913785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timeclones/pseuds/Timeclones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a so called 'mishap' in previous years , Chloe is unwilling to go on the Bella's holiday to New York. Instead she bargains for a log cabin, to which no one agrees. Cue Beca to save the day. [Eventual Bechloe, M rated in future chapters]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: As much I hope you enjoy this chapter, this is a trigger warning. 
> 
> It should only be triggering near the end; but I don't know my readers and I care for you guys.

It was summer break. A time when campus became barren and the few people that remained wished they hadn’t. The heat prickled at everyone’s skin and made dormitory rooms unbearable; even the quad was relatively empty despite its usual popularity among students. 

It was this time of year when it was Bella’s tradition to go on a small vacation together to a big city, or alternatively (and this was the less popular option) to a secluded log cabin by a fishing lake, where they would ‘reconnect with nature’. Although, the log cabin had seldom been chosen due to the party loving Bellas consistently having the upper hand over whatever small part of their brains even remotely enjoyed the outdoors.

So, as it usually went, the decision for New York had been decided weeks in advanced. Everyone was excited, even Beca, whom usually would’ve shied away from a week’s worth of alcohol, sex and most probably drugs as well.  
But then there was Chloe; after a mishap (to quote Aubrey, though Beca had suspicion about the whole thing) during their previous crusade to the big apple, she seemed reluctant and was almost pleading to visit the log cabin, claiming it would be ‘super cute and totally relaxing’.

The girls were showing a lack of interest and Aubrey, against her own will, told the redhead they’d have to go without her. This struck Beca as a little odd (I mean, they were best friends, right?) and, being someone who knows what’s it like to be left out, began to stand up for her.  
“Dudes, that’s totally unfair” The brunette exclaimed. She made a vague gesture towards the crossed armed, scowling Chloe and added “We can’t just leave her by herself. “  
Beca sighed, shaking her head as if she was regretting breaking her ‘bad ass’ image to help out a fellow Bella (Though, she might have had a small crush on the certain redhead in question, which may have added incentive) but nevertheless, she swallowed her pride and finished “We’re all Bellas, so we do things together, or not at all.”

Aubrey stared down at the DJ, her face construed in a somewhat challenging expression but it held an air of approval, as if Beca had said exactly the right thing for the first time in her life. Though, she dismissed it, giving an airy motion with her hand.  
“I’m sorry Beca; the majority has made their choice. I’m torn that Chloe isn’t coming but unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do. “Aubrey shrugged, and produced a print off of an email from her purse. “I mean…it’s already been booked.” She admitted, waving the paper flauntingly.

Beca’s face dropped to disgust.  
She scowled and turned to look at Chloe, who gave a disappointed smile and a sheepish shrug. The brunette’s heart strings were tugged hard and her head whipped back towards the group, of whom were chattering excitedly.  
She exhaled with visible frustration, new eyes narrowing on Aubrey as she skirted through the small crowd, snatching the booking confirmation straight from the older Bella’s cold grip.

“Jesus Christ, of course you’ve already booked it!” She scoffed, staring in disbelief at the paper.  
“Beca don’t, it’s fine, I-“Chloe began to meekly defend herself, though Beca cut back in without hesitation.  
“No Chloe, it’s not! Aubrey went and booked a vacation which she probably knew you were uncomfortable with and knew that you wouldn’t want to go. That’s completely bull shit!”

Everyone in the room grew silent at the outburst, expecting a quick taut reply from Aubrey, but the blonde was surprisingly quiet.  
Beca scanned the room, every pair of eyes averted from her gaze. Aubrey looked embarrassed, ashamed even but was ultimately unwilling to admit it.  
Chloe was also speechless, giving an amazed stare towards the angered brunette. The corners of her mouth twitched to form the slightest smile because it wasn’t often Beca spoke (or yelled) with such intensity. She wouldn’t ever tell anyone, but it even made her swoon a little at how defensive Beca was over her; a side that even the DJ herself was unaware of.

After a considerable amount of time, Beca threw her hands up and moved towards Chloe, also dropping the paper to the floor in the process. Aubrey promptly collected it and with an authoritative huff, shoved it back into her purse, glaring the younger Bella up and down as she did.

This was actually a simple time buying tactic; Beca needed a few more seconds to decide a game plan and the time it took Aubrey to collect the email was just enough.  
As she reached the redhead (who had separated from the group since the minor disagreement and was sitting on the chairs instead of stood by the piano), Beca gave a sly wink.  
Chloe smirked softly, bemused at this mysterious caricature of her brunette friend.  
“It’s okay Chlo’, I got this.” Beca whispered, just audible enough for Chloe to hear but nobody else. In response, Chloe cocked her eyebrow, waiting in anticipation of whatever ridiculous plan Beca had concocted.  
Turns out, it wasn’t all that ridiculous at all.

“Alright nerds, I’ve got a proposition.” Beca turned on her heel towards the group, who faced the DJ with puzzled expressions.  
“Well c’mon shawshank, what ya’ got? Can’t be worse than the time I suggested my friends and I go kangaroo racing…” fat Amy replied, her small anecdote getting a series of eye rolls and amused chuckles.  
“Yeah, spit it out.” Cynthia-rose added, her sudden interested simply fuelled by her wondering imagination (out of the whole group, she was seemingly the only one who could see Chloe and Beca’s toner’s for each other and she was damn sure they’d end up together one way or another).

Beca hushed them with a simple gesture and took a quick breath.  
“I won’t go to New York.”  
Everyone shot her a questioning glance and with Aubrey on the brink of making a comment, Beca hastily continued.  
“Chloe and I won’t go to New York; we’ll go to the log cabin instead…by ourselves” She explained. “It’s not exactly a bad idea; besides, I could do with something a little more relaxing.” 

Her thought process and reasoning changed the entire group’s outlook and instead of confused staring, they all nodded their heads in an agreement that said ‘Yeah, that’s actually a pretty good idea’.  
Beca turned to Chloe and grinned with enthusiasm (Albeit, it was a little creepy, big smiles don’t work on a small frame like Beca’s).  
“So, how about it red?”

Chloe’s hand fell to her chest, resting lightly above where her heart was located and she grinned. She felt touched at how selfless this was of Beca, considering the DJ’s usual stubbornness and despite how cheesy the gesture she just made was, Chloe couldn’t help but act like an excitable teen that had been swooped head first into their first major crush.  
The offer looked promising too; a week away with Beca with no distractions. Maybe Beca made the offer with intentions, though it seemed purely innocent…

Her internal monologue about love and it’s mysterious ways would’ve continued further but Aubrey’s firm, yet caring tones broke through her thoughts, like nails on a chalkboard.  
“Chloe? Are you answering Beca’s question or is your silence an indication that you’re too polite to decline the offer?”  
Beca shot the blonde a dirty look, retorting quickly “Hey! Let her make her own decisions!”  
Aubrey sighed, turning her attention back to the redhead; she was far too professional to start an argument with some silly alt girl.

Chloe glanced between the two, a smile filling her features, making her eyes twinkle in that perfectly enticing way that they did.  
“Beca, that sounds like an awesome idea, I’d love to go to the log cabin with you.”  
Beca’s face lit up, she smiled, cute and endearing. The DJ clasped her hands together in an uncharacteristic fashion but then quickly pulled them apart again, wiping them on her jeans nervously.  
“That’s uh, great! I’ll go make plans and…stuff.” Beca collected her things, nodded a farewell to the group and made her way to the door, only getting halted by none other than Aubrey.  
“Excuse me Beca, but I think you’ll find this is a Bella’s rehearsal…and in rehearsals we tend to rehearse, so get back here.” The older woman commanded Beca in a somewhat condescending manner, which elicited an appropriate eye roll and sigh from the brunette as she came to a stop, centimetres from freedom.

Without even turning around, or without battering an eyelid for that matter, Beca replied “Actually, I think you’ll find its 10:03; rehearsals ended 3 minutes ago, so technically you actually owe me 3 minutes. I’ll remember that next rehearsal.” And with that, she walked out.

Aubrey glanced to the clock. To her dismay, Beca was correct. She groaned, giving a flick of her hand to dismiss the others before she sloped to where her water bottle resided and took a drink from it.  
After a content gasp as the fresh water cooled her throat, she turned her head to Chloe and grimaced.  
“You’re not seriously going to go....alone with Beca?” She asked, the slightly disdain in her voice evident.  
Chloe shrugged and smiled playfully. “Why not? It’d be fun! This means you guys can enjoy in New York without having to worry about me…”  
Aubrey simply stares at her, going tight lipped. She has no argument to respond with, there’s no retaliation that could be considered legitimate enough to warrant Chloe’s decision making skills.  
The blonde simply huffed, which expressed everything she needed to say instead.

Chloe approached Aubrey and rested her hand on her co-captains shoulder gently, giving a sincere smile.  
“I think it’s a good idea.” She stated with optimism before swiftly exiting the room, leaving Aubrey to her thoughts.

Aubrey sat for a moment, considering the turnout of today’s rehearsal and she smiled cunningly to herself.  
“Gotta hand it to yourself Posen, your acting skills are better than what you thought.” She mumbled to herself with a light chuckle.  
The blonde pulled out the email from her purse, and sat with a look of utter smugness. She had, after all, just completely tricked Beca into finally getting her ass into gear (though admittedly, no one else in the group knew about her little plan either).  
The smugness wasn’t just that either, it was the fact that she knew after this, Beca and Chloe would most definitely be dating, thanks to her. She may have been a little uptight sometimes, but Aubrey cared deeply about every member of the Bella’s.

She may have also been correct about Beca caring enough to stand up for Chloe and as a result, offer to take Chloe to the log cabin but what she hadn’t thought she consider was if Beca had good intentions or not. Chloe was her best friend and that tiny DJ could easily crush the redhead’s heart within a matter of minutes. She had to act fast, give the alt girl an interrogation of her life and make sure she didn’t forget it anytime soon.

Aubrey grabbed her bag and left, sights set on Beca’s dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

Beca was sat on her bed, typing diligently with an air of purpose. It seemed that this log cabin was rather secluded and apart from the miniscule village it sat on the edge of, there was literally nowhere ‘fun’ that could be reached in less than 40 minutes.

The brunette groaned a little, clicking off the last website she had visited and slamming the lid of her laptop shut.  
With an impatient exhale, she glanced up towards Kimmy-Jin. The roommate was disinterested (as expected) in Beca’s activities and fortunately, was not giving her the death glare that unnerved the DJ so greatly.

Tentatively, Beca stood and trying to move without making a sound, edged towards the door. She twisted its handle, the minor creak it made only causing Kimmy-Jin to turn away from Beca and continue to blog in complete silence.

With a relieved sigh, and also sure that she no longer had to tread on eggshells, Beca swung the door open. She considered going to see Chloe and asking about this mysterious cabin because prior to that rehearsal-turned-vacation-meeting, she had no idea there even was a log cabin, let alone that Chloe wanted to visit it.  
She had questions to ask, answers to hear and (with a quick check of her watch) 4 hours until her work shift at the radio station.

She stepped out of the room. Without a second to react, Aubrey pounced on the small woman, gripping the neck of Beca’s shirt against the wall to prevent escape.   
“What the fuck, Aubrey?! “ Beca hissed, squirming as the blonde’s viper grip held her tightly in place.

“Turn down the dramatics Mitchell.” Aubrey replied tautly though she applied a little less force to ensure that Beca would at least stop complaining.  
“Jesus Aubrey, just come and jump me why don’t you?” Beca muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms as she anticipated the older Bella’s explanation (An apology seemed a little out of reach, considering their relationship dynamic).

“I’ll do what I please, especially when Chloe’s concerned.”  
Beca scowled. “What?”  
“Don’t play dumb with me, Beca. What are your intentions on this vacation?” The blonde demanded, her piercing glare making Beca writhe uncomfortably.  
“I don’t…I don’t know what you mean.” The DJ pleaded.  
Aubrey’s single raised eyebrow and cynical expression showed she was unconvinced.

“Okay fine.” Beca spat. “I like Chloe, okay?”  
“Oh, I already knew that, I just wanted to hear it from your own mouth to assure myself it was true.” Aubrey smiled sourly and finally let Beca go, the brunette giving a grunt as she was freed from the grip.  
Beca rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation “So you’re telling me that you came all the way over here to make sure I had-“ Beca gestured with air quotes “-‘good intentions’ with Chloe?”  
The blonde was silent and tight lipped, Beca already knew the answer to that question. 

“Jesus Christ! I have nothing but good intentions!” Beca began to raise her voice, her thoughts being that maybe Aubrey would finally listen and be trustful if her words were just a little edgier.  
“I would never take advantage of Chloe and I don’t even understand why you’d even think that. Like, oh my god! I’m sorry, just…just go away Aubrey. I appreciate your concern for your best friend, but there’s nothing to worry about here.” Beca pushed past the Bella’s leader and reached for the door handle, only getting stopped by what sounded like an apologetic tone.

“Look, Beca I’m sorry, okay? I can see that my actions were probably…inappropriate, but I had good reason. Now, that whole thing with the New York confirmation email? I planned that. I was hoping you’d stand up for Chloe and go to the log cabin with her because I see the way she looks at you. Of course I was weary about you first, but you seem passionate enough about her and I don’t want this screwed up for either of you.” It was the one trick card Aubrey had wished she didn’t have to use, but if she wanted Beca on her side, there was no other choice. Aubrey sighed as she realised Beca hadn’t turned around or even replied, so she started walking away, hoping at least some good with come of this. She hadn’t failed, god forbid that because Posen’s never fail, but it definitely hadn’t gone to plan.

“Aubrey wait!” Beca’s desperate tones echoed down the hallway, Aubrey stopping in her tracks to allow the DJ to catch up.  
As soon as Beca reached the older Bella, she disallowed any speaking from the blonde, quickly starting with a shaky “Thank you.” Before grinning and then adding. “I had no idea. You put a lot of effort into this, I can see that...”  
Aubrey nodded. “It’s not a problem.” She responded, smiling tightly.

An awkward silence then fell between the two women. Beca scratched her neck awkwardly and then cleared her throat. Aubrey, on the other hand rifled through her purse, producing a pristine leaflet from its reaches. She had to hold it out for a few moments until Beca got the message and took it, a confused scowl on adorned her face.  
“It’s information about the cabins. “Aubrey explained.   
“…okay. Thanks.” Beca turned away and began the short walk back to her dorm, reading the text intently to ensure she could truly seize the opportunity of the vacation.  
“Oh, and Beca?” Aubrey called, causing a sigh to be elicited from the brunette as she once again turned around to face the blonde. 

“Don’t screw this up.” Aubrey smiled teasingly, her tone light and humorous for once. Beca was a little taken aback, considering the other woman’s usual stark and cold demeanour but it was a welcome change and the DJ gave an exaggerated eye roll in response, returning the pleasant expression.

Finally they parted; Beca’s first thoughts were now less about the log cabin and if she had seriously just become friendly with Aubrey. If anything, she was a little freaked out though ultimately relieved because this would lead to reduced tension within the group.

She reached her bed, relaxing into the soft mattress and smiled to herself (apparently to Kimmy-Jin’s displeasure, judging from the roommate’s more-than-pissed-off glare). Her life may have been a roller coaster, but at the moment it was only going up.  
A vacation with Chloe and making peace with Aubrey, it was enough motivation for Beca to do almost anything. However, she decided that due to the fact she was going on vacation in a few days, planning her luggage might be a good idea too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Had no time to beta this chapter, apologies for any mistakes!  
> revision note: This chapter wasn't as good as I expected, the next chapter will be more promising!

The day had arrived.  
Beca awoke in the morning to her phone vibrating. She rubbed her bleary eyes, stretching out with a grunt before she finally tapped the screen to view the message.

'omg becs we're goin on vacation 2day! xxx' was the text that confronted the sleepy DJ, undeniably Chloe judging from the awful grammar and the kisses at the end. Beca smiled tiredly at her friend's excitement, rolling on her side so she could type back a reply in comfort.

It took a few moments for Beca to form a response that didn't sound too eager, yet too bored. The brunette had re-written it four times, each time worrying that she sounded stupid or sarcastic. She wanted Chloe to know how happy she was about the vacation, yet she didn't want to overstep the boundaries of friendship.  
In the end, she replied with. 'I know, super excited!' and she smirked gently as she replaced her phone on the desk, heaving her body off the bed as she did.  
"Nailed it." The DJ muttered to herself sarcastically.

Beca then spent the next few minutes checking over what she had packed for the vacation, agonisingly sifting through her suitcase to check she had every object on her list (which she totally didn't write upon Chloe's suggestion) and then checking again just to be safe. Beca had also made an effort to ensure her laptop case was on top of the suitcase as a reminder so she didn't forget it, not that she needed to be reminded anyway.

Beca glanced to her clock, hissing a loud "Fuck!" as she realised it was literally 15 minutes until she was to meet Chloe. The brunette ran to her mirror, grimacing as her appearance was, unfortunately, a little less than what she desired. Tired eyes with last night's makeup smudged slightly and messy hair that stuck at awkward angles.  
"Jesus Christ." She mumbled, simultaneously grabbing a hairbrush and make-up removal wipes in a bid to make light of the situation.

5 minutes and a variety of cussing later, Beca looked somewhat presentable and with the addition of a fresh outfit consisting of jeans, tank top and signature plaid shirt, she became ready to face the day with a brave smile (or maybe a smirk, she hadn't decided).

With a final look in the mirror, Beca grabbed her phone, checking for new messages. Expectedly, there was another one from Chloe and it was equally as excited as the last.  
'Me 2! legit cant wait, hurry ur butt up Mitchell!'  
Beca smirked, deciding to not give Chloe a reply but she hurried her pace nonetheless, grabbing her suitcase, laptop case and headphones before briefly scanning the room. She nodded in self-assurance, positive that she had everything packed and with a relieved exhale, left the room.

X-X-X-X

Upon seeing the flash of brunette hair and heavy eyeliner approach from around the corner, Chloe let out a squeal, forgetting the open trunk of her car and surprising Beca with what could only be described as a tackle hug. The DJ lets out a yelp as the excitable redhead embraces her, nearly dropping her suitcase in the process.

"I'm so glad we're going on this vacation, Beca" Chloe half whispered into Beca's ear. The way her warm breath tickled the brunette's neck and the way her tone was soft and dare Beca say it, longing, made Beca's mind think about everything apart from the fact they were just 'friends' . It made Beca think of many things, some she'd rather not admit. However, the fact of the matter was, Chloe was not just being overly friendly. She sounded flirty, and god damn, did it make the DJ blush.

Beca cleared her throat, managing to mumble a sincere "Y-yeah, it's gonna be awesome…"  
"Well, c'mon on then!" Chloe's demeanour flipped from flirty to cheerful within an instant, the redhead gracefully removing the suitcases from the dumbfounded DJ's grip with an innocent grin. Beca stared blankly, looking down at her hands, then to Chloe then back at her hands again. She scowled a little, scratching her neck nervously.  
"S-sure…uh, let's get going!" Beca said, her enthusiasm possibly a little feigned.

The twosome got into their respective sides of the vehicle, buckling their seatbelts in unison and sat for a moment; Chloe busy looking at a map whilst Beca inspected the car.  
It was cleaner than she expected, for starters but something else caught her eye. It might have not been amazing in any ordinary person's view, but Beca hadn't been in any other car apart from her own recently, and the car she had was literally falling apart.  
"Oh my god Dude, your car has cup holders!" Beca exclaimed. She regretted it instantly, blushing profusely as she comically slapped her hand over her mouth and glanced towards Chloe, whose bemused expression only adds humour to the situation.

"Not cup holders, I use them to keep all the souls I steal, because I don't have my own." Chloe suddenly said, completely deadpan. The fact her gaze didn't flicker away from the map for a second had Beca impressed.  
In fact, the way the DJ's eyebrows raised and her entire expression turned into complete awe, you could say Beca was a little enchanted by Chloe's level of sarcasm, feeling the need to actually slow clap the reply. She didn't of course. Instead, she blushed again, mentally kicking herself for being unable to control her toner.

Fortunately, all 'hopeless-crush-on-Chloe' thoughts were forgotten as the car stuttered into life and was driven out of the parking lot, where the journey to the cabin finally began.

X-X-X-X

Thirty minutes in and a happy medium was found. Chloe's generic music taste meant that various CD's were littered in different parts of the car. After a thorough rummage, Beca came across Bruno Mars' album. She groaned, but considering her other options were Taylor Swift or Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars sounded pretty good.

She put the CD in, giving a gentle smile as the sound came through the speakers, filling the car with the first track 'Grenade'.  
Beca was sure Chloe would be bobbing her head along to the beat, but the redhead actually grimaced a little.  
"Beca, could you skip to the second song…I just really like that one." Chloe asked gently. She then reached out her hand despite just asking Beca to change the track and even seemed surprised when their hands met.

"Dude!" Beca gasped as she retracting her hand quickly. She turned to face the window to hide the deep red colour that was slowly creeping up her face and bit her lip to supress the wave of profanities that she longed to follow with.  
Chloe seemed oblivious; she chuckled and changed the song, humming along with the lyrics. A few seconds later, she frowned and quickly glanced to Beca.  
"Becs, you look a little warm there, lemme open the window." Chloe said innocently, pressing a button which opened the passenger side window, allowing a pleasant breeze to roll in.

The Dj sighed, though ultimately couldn't stay embarrassed for long. She dropped the awkward tight lipped expression in place of a shallow smile and turned back towards the front, watching the highway in front of them.

After a few minutes of (painful) silence, Chloe finally spoke up, her voice soft.  
"It's great to finally go to the cabin...I can't thank you enough Beca, you're a life saver"  
The younger Bella smirked, shaking her head. "N-no Chloe, don't worry about it…I, uh, it's my pleasure, really."  
The way Chloe smiled after hearing the words from her mouth made Beca's heart swell. It was that smile where her eyes twinkled and the curve of her lips was equally adorable and sexy. If they hadn't been in a car and Chloe hadn't been driving, Beca would've kissed her and happily accepted any reaction there and then, positive or negative.

The thought of getting that close to the older Bella rang through Beca's mind for a while, but was eventually drained out by a will to sleep.  
Eyelids already a little heavy, Beca made a struggle of checking that Chloe was completely content with her Bruno Mars CD or whatever she was listening to before finally allowing the tiredness to manifest. Her eyes shut, she fell asleep.

X-X-X-X

Beca awoke with a start, jumping from her seat with a gasp, though restricted by her seatbelt. She wheezed as the air in her lungs were jolted, her sleep induced daze only confusing her further.  
The Dj breathed erratically for a moment, only calming down as she remembered her surroundings and scenario.  
"Oh yeah, the vacation." She muttered in an undertone, smirking at her own idiocy.

She looked out the window, and much to her (lack of) surprise, they were at a gas station. Chloe was nowhere to be seen, presumably inside the small store that accompanied the various gas pumps. Beca reclined into her seat, letting out a yawn and stretching.  
Though she was no longer tired, she closed her eyes and relaxes for a moment, a neutral smile adorned on her features.

An unmeasured amount of time later, Chloe opened the door and the car leant slightly as she slipped onto her seat. Beca felt the redhead reach over her and place something in the cup holder, presumably a coffee.  
"Should put those soul catchers to good use…" Beca heard the smirk in Chloe's words and had to bite her tongue to not laugh but then another comment caught her attention, withdrawing all humour from the atmosphere. It sounded passive, though was unmistakably clear.

"Bec's is such a cutie when she sleeps."

Beca's eyes open wide and her head turned sharply towards Chloe.  
"What?" Beca inquired, oblivious to the terror on the redhead's face.  
"Oh, Beca…you're awake?" Chloe skirted around the question, smiling innocently.  
"Did you just call me a cutie?"  
Chloe shrugged nonchalantly . "No…you were probably dreaming."  
Beca scowls, unconvinced. "I wasn't even asleep." She stated, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

Chloe's eyes darted around the vehicle, looking for a topic change.  
"Whatever!" She replied starkly "Look, I bought you coffee." She points to the cup, and then took her own one and sips at it graciously, giving an exaggerated sigh of contentment. "It's pretty good." She comments, her gaze directed away from Beca.  
"Yeah …thanks." Beca picked up her own coffee and drank from it. To be honest, it was pretty good.

"Okay so…how far away are we?" The brunette continued, sipping periodically from her coffee as Chloe restarted the car and left the gas station.  
"Uh…" Chloe frowned, trying to locate a road sign. "I think about half an hour…"  
Beca sniffed awkwardly "Damn, I was out that long?"  
Chloe chuckled, nodding in response.

"Well, on the journey back, I promise I won't fall asleep. Deal?" Beca grinned, holding her hand out towards Chloe.  
Keeping one eye on the road, the older Bella tentatively removed a hand from the wheel and shook Beca's, giggling as the brunette smirked.  
"Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So after the disappointment that was chapter 3 (I’m really sorry about that, I don’t really know what happened there), here’s chapter 4! Hopefully it’s an improvement…

After a slow crawling half hour, the car pulled into a makeshift driveway littered with weeds and pebbles. The ground crunched loudly under the weight but it subsided as the vehicle juddered to a halt and its passengers got out, taking in their first view of their home for the next week.

“Well…we’re here!” Chloe exclaimed, flashing a grin at Beca as she rushed to the trunk. The DJ meekly returned the gesture, though instantly gave a wince as she noticed the distinct lack of…well, anything, really.

There was the cabin, relatively small but endearingly homely. There was the small decking area immediately at the door, with a Jacuzzi (much to Beca’s pleasure) and a table with two chairs. Then there was the vast expanse of fishing lake that extended out a good 500ft, no doubt the only ‘entertainment’ available.   
Everything else (if there was anything else) was shrouded by dense woodland, with the road they came in on seemingly the only exit.

Beca sniffed loudly, the fresh air a welcome change to that of the city.   
“It’s uh, definitely very-“She held the last syllable and gestured thoughtfully for an adjective whilst Chloe on looked the troubled brunette with a smirk.  
“-…natural?” It was intended as a statement but sounded questioning.   
“No shit, Sherlock” Chloe quipped sarcastically, once again flaunting her respectable talent for sarcasm with a jesting grin, leaving Beca dumbfounded yet inarguably impressed.  
The redhead then skipped past Beca, suitcase in arm. 

“What are you waiting for? C’mon Bec, grab some stuff from the trunk and get inside!”  
Beca smirked, Chloe’s enthusiasm so far the most entertaining part of her day. She approached the rear end of the car, hoisted a laptop case over her shoulder and grabbed her respective suitcase.

She struggled to drag the luggage by its wheels, the uneven ground causing the wheels to get stuck or veer off and ended up carrying it by the handle. Unfortunately, it was a lot heavier this way and Beca wasn’t exactly the strongest of people.

The DJ groaned, her steps rushed as the suitcase caused a weighted ache in Beca’s arm to slowly become unbearable. She stumbled a few times and dropped it, breath sharp with every flex of her wrist as she recovered.

Chloe, by some miracle, caught said suitcase just in time. She grunted a little when she realised that Beca wasn’t faking her struggle though smiled determinedly, at which the younger woman smirked.  
“Aw, is the little suitcase too much for Chloe?” The brunette teased in a childish voice, playfully jabbing the redhead in the side as she passed by on the way to the door.  
Chloe seized up, her face construed as she stifled a giggle.   
Of course, Beca Mitchell had effortlessly just found her ticklish spot and it hadn’t gone unnoticed apparently, judged from the devilish look in the Dj’s eyes.   
“Beca.” Chloe’s tone was warning, but ultimately unfazing.

She backed away, scowling as the brunette approached slowly, mischief twinkling in her dark eyes.   
“Don’t.”  
Beca smirked and suddenly dashed towards the older Bella.   
“Beca stop!” Chloe shrieked. All thoughts of luggage were left forgotten on the ground as the redhead made an escape into the log cabin and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Beca to retrieve the rest of their stuff. She saw the brunette roll her eyes before she turned away and headed back to the vehicle.

Chloe breathed out a relieved breath, kicked off her shoes and awed as she turned and was met with the warm comfort of the cabin.  
Immediately, you walked into a living space, with two couches, and a TV mounted on the wall with a fireplace beneath. This openly attached to the kitchen, a modern affair with pleasant lighting and one fancy ass stove (to put into the vocabulary of Beca).

Chloe walked over to the countertop, ran her finger over its surface then inspected it, expecting a trail of dust but found it to be immaculate. She nodded in approval, and then leant on the counter, glancing around.

Chloe had barely finished her own staring when Beca finally trampled through the doorway, bags dropping to her feet as she saw modern décor that outlandishly contrasted to the humble exterior.  
“Jesus Christ.” The DJ muttered disbelievingly.   
She traipsed over to a couch and fell into it, giving a satisfied moan as her body relaxed.   
“Someone could take me right now on this couch and I would not give a single fuck because it’s so damn comfortable.”

The words escaped as mere aloud thoughts, but with only the company of Chloe, the twosome fell into a space where neither could add nor remove anything from the situation to patch over the sudden awkwardness. Beca blushed, her hands flailing as she gabbled herself to safety (or further into her own grave, more likely)   
“I mean, metaphorically, y’know? Like…I just…never mind.” 

Chloe giggled. “Whatever you say Beca.” She gave a playful wink, then grabbed some bags and went through to a small hallway, leaving the flustered brunette to live down her embarrassment and remove the red blush that seemed to be constantly adorned on her face whilst around the perky redhead.  
“Get a grip, Mitchell” Beca muttered to herself as she leant up on her elbows.

There were a few minutes of silence consumed by Chloe collecting the bags and relocating them whilst Beca lounged on the couch. The brunette had considered asking if she needed help, but was sure she’d only get in the way, besides Chloe was a lot better at organisation.

When the redhead finally came to a stop, she claimed a couch for her own and relaxed onto it, facing Beca with the intention of conversation, though they fell into an eerie silence not often experienced by the two.

The periodic ticking of the clock, which Beca had begun to focus on and thus far get annoyed by, was the only sound apart from her own shallow breathing. She glanced over to Chloe, whose eyes were gently shut and hands were interlinked loosely, resting on her stomach which rose and fell with each of her breaths.

Beca smiled with the sudden realisation how blessed the situation was. One week, with the girl of her secret yearning and no distractions.   
Yet she was terrified to even make a move.

x-x-x-x

“So, uh…What’s the sleeping arrangement?” She heard her voice croak into life, asking the question before she could think to stop herself.  
Chloe opened one of her eyes and looked towards Beca. 

“There’s one bedroom with a double bed.” She stated, her glare somewhat challenging.   
“Oh…” Beca’s heart raced. Had she known earlier she might have been a little eased, but this information was new and now she was freaking out. Hugging Chloe was enough to make her stomach flutter, a shared bed was unbearable. 

The older woman eyed Beca and up down, noticing her little nervous ticks; the biting of her lip and the creasing the hem of her shirt between her fingers but it was in her clouded eyes where you could see the storm that raged.  
“No problem.” She finally mumbled. It was clearly a lie, but Chloe smiled contently nonetheless.

There was another brief silence.   
“What side of the bed do you want?” Chloe sat up, hugging her knees to her chest and looked to Beca. The brunette scowled.   
“What?”   
“I said what side of the bed do you-“  
“I know what you said Chloe.” Beca shrugged. “I don’t mind, I’ll take either.”  
Chloe chuckled disbelievingly.

“You don’t mind?! But Beca, choosing the side of your bed is like…” She threw her arms out with theatrical passion. “…It’s like a ritual!”  
Beca snorted with an eye roll. “Yeah totally.” She retorted sarcastically. The DJ pulled a comical face of thought , stroking an imaginary beard then said “I’ll take the right side.”  
Chloe beamed “Aca-awesome! I’m gonna go unpack…Do you want me to sort your stuff out for you?”

Yet again, Beca considered helping but (yet again) she knew Chloe would be better at getting stuff into an organised fashion. She nodded, albeit a little guiltily, then added “Yeah thanks, I suck at sorting clothes.” As a meek attempt of an excuse.

Chloe giggled. “Not a problem Becs.” The redhead jumped from the couch, and traipsed out of room, humming ‘Just the way you are’ under her breath.  
Beca smiled, because God damn, Chloe was adorable.

The DJ stood and then approached the table where various plastic bags of food waiting to be put in the fridge awaited. She rummaged through the bags, commenting on the various items she found.   
“Bananas…what a lack of appeal.”  
“What the fuck is turmeric? ...”  
“Shit, do we really need this much pasta? Are we in freakin’ Italy or something?”  
“Alphabet soup, seriously? Well, it certainly spells out a culinary disaster.”

She might have continued on her excursion of self-monologued puns and comments, had she not discovered the pack of beer cans hidden under a loaf of bread.   
She eagerly grabbed two, opening one whilst leaving the other on the side for Chloe. She took a sip. It was lukewarm and unpleasant, but it was her first drink in a while and was therefore happily welcomed.  
She downed a few more gulps, grimacing at the taste became increasingly unpleasant. Eventually, she decided she’d just wait until Chloe returned to finish, setting herself the task of transferring food to the fridge instead.

It turned out that Chloe was fast at unpacking, as no more than 5 minutes later; she bounded back into the kitchen/living area, grinning as she watched Beca work.  
She eyed the cans on the countertop  
“Found the alcohol then?” She asked playfully as she grabbed a can and opened it.  
“Of course.” Beca replied with a smirk.

The brunette was attempting to place cereal boxes in a high up cupboard. She grunted, standing on the tips of her toes but still failing in the feat.   
“Here, let me help you.” Chloe offered, taking the box from the disgruntled Beca and slotting it with ease onto the cupboard shelf.  
Beca rolled her eyes “I could’ve done it.” She said with a glare.   
“Totes.” Chloe quipped in response, side glancing the DJ as she sipped from her beer.

“Shut up.” Beca muttered dejectedly, though a small smile played on her lips as Chloe giggled. She grabbed her own can of drink and drank from it, instantly gaining a harsh reminder of why she placed it down in the first place.  
She paused for a moment, thinking of how to avoid taking another drink.

“To our vacation!” She suddenly toasted, raising the can enthusiastically in the air before she could wimp out of her poor excuse for avoiding the drink(a situation she’d never really been in before, she was usually try to gain more alcohol rather than lose it).   
It was almost sarcastic, but Chloe watched with fascination, then raised her can and made a toast of her own. 

“To the log cabin and whatever may unfold from it!” The redhead then winked at Beca, causing the DJ to choke on her drink. Of course, Beca played it off but had no such luck when playing off her blush as Chloe’s lustful eyes teased her for a moment before the older Bella walked away, returning to her respective couch with drink in hand.

“God damn.” Beca whispered to herself, face adorned with an awed grin.   
“I’m so whipped.”


	5. Chapter 5

That evening, Chloe traipsed off to bed first. She mumbled Beca a sleep laden "Good night" before leaving the brunette in front of the TV with a spine chilling thriller movie blasting through the speakers. Had Beca not been engrossed in the movie (Which was odd, considering she could hardly sit through one with Jesse), she may have taken time to wish Chloe a proper good night's rest, but instead, she grunted a "G'night" and glued her eyes back to the screen, much to the redhead's amusement. Chloe rolled her eyes good naturedly and disappeared into the hallway.

However, with Chloe not there for company, the film suddenly became a lot less entertaining. The older woman's whimpered yelps as a jump scare appeared and her eventually tactic to gripping Beca's arm tightly and hiding behind a pillow had been adored by the 'bad ass' DJ. Beca actually enjoyed having Chloe so close and now with no arm around hers and nothing but eerie silence apart from the oh-so generic dramatic breathing sounds coming from the TV , Beca felt lonely. She sighed; shuffling uncomfortably in the couch (her butt had gone numb at least 30 minutes ago) and stretched for the remote, the tips of her fingers edging it closer until she managed to hit the power button and the TV faded, the sound cut off in the middle of a blood curdling scream.

The cabin was pitch black, as Beca had now discovered. She stood tentatively, arms spread in front of her as she felt her way through the rooms. She made a quick pit stop in the bathroom where she got changed and then eventually found the bedroom door through the process of tripping over an out of place suitcase.

Beca hissed obscenities as she stumbled and then continued to hit her shin upon the door frame. Her mouth opened wide to scream but upon remembering the sleeping redhead in the adjacent room, she hopped around, gripping her leg tightly and muttering under her breath.

When the sting subsided to a dull ache, Beca put her leg down. She wanted to inspect the damage and the possible bruising but considering her drowsiness, she decided it was a job that could wait until the morning.

She slowly turned the handle on the door and edged it open; the creaky hinge made Beca wince with each subtle movement though she finally got the gap large enough and slipped through, promptly shutting the door again behind her. She breathed a relieved sigh when she found Chloe was out like a light and hadn't even stirred from the minor incident; though at the same was rather concerned about what the girl was able to sleep through.

"Jesus Christ…" she muttered with a stifled chuckle as she looked upon the bed. She leant against the door frame with arms crossed, an endearing smile on her face. She was looking at Chloe and

how beautiful she was with her peaceful sleeping smile and ginger hair that splayed flawlessly on the pillow; lightly illuminated by a slither of moonlight through the drapes.

Beca kept that smile for a while as she made her way to the bed, disturbed the sheets and climbed in, taking extra care to not wake the older women beside her (though that seemed near impossible). She shuffled momentarily before she was finally settled and then curled up, back towards Chloe because pretending to be alone was the only way Beca could possibly endure such close proximity with the redhead. Even so, her stomach fluttered a little.

The Dj's eyes fell shut and she led in silence for a while. Sleep avoided her often and tonight was no exception, or so she thought. Beca had planned her sleep patterns accordingly in order to make sure she woke up on time, as she had done for years due to her mild insomnia. However, her grip of time was at a sudden loss and her consciousness drifted away from her quickly. The brunette fell asleep effortlessly for the first time in years and dreamed calmly, her usually traumatic dreams at bay.

X-X-X-X

Light shuffled movements stirred Beca. She was still asleep, but could feel the discomfort in the strain of the sheets and the gentle murmurs that whistled through her ears which eventually awoke her. As reality and Beca's senses returned, she became aware of a struggle taking place adjacent to her and the DJ unwillingly opened her eyes to discover the cause of the ruckus that had so rudely lifted her from her rarely found slumber.

What she found was Chloe, muscles tensed, body shaking and face contorted into gut wrenching terror. Beads of sweat lined the redhead's hair line and in between her erratic breaths, words escaped, whimpered and weak. "Stop." Chloe's head jerked violently. "No!" Her hands visibly tightened, white knuckled fists strained against the sheets as if they were trying to escape an invisible force that held them down. "NO!" Chloe yelled hysterically, tears now wetted her agonised face. She writhed wildly and cried uncontrollably, calling out into the darkness of the room.

Beca's eyes widened as she watched the woman contort herself and cry in her disturbed slumber; a stark difference from the calm Chloe she admired only a few hours prior. She knew the kind of dream that stalked behind closed eyes and could only watch helplessly as her ability to be helpful was less than proficient.

Beca then tentatively hovered her hand over Chloe's shuddering arm before putting a light grasp upon it, in an attempted comforting manner. The desired effect was that the redhead's movement would cease and she'd be calm again upon finding solace in the touch but as it often was when the brunette attempted anything sympathetic, it failed miserably.

Chloe instead jolted awake and instantly sat upright in the bed, her eyes flashing around the room in a crazed fashion. She mumbled under her breath nervously, only coming to a halt when she caught her worried expression reflected on Beca's own face.

"Chlo'?" Beca questioned. She scanned the older womans empty gaze for recognition but in between the rapid breaths and tears that flowed, it seemed that Chloe was frozen with fright. With only minor hesitation, the DJ pulled Chloe into an embrace, silent and endearing. Chloe's silent sobs racked both their bodies but Beca closed her eyes and did the only thing she could do; not let go.

"It's okay, I'm here." Beca whispered. She felt incredibly self-conscious and out of her comfort zone after having initiated this extended contact and to be Chloe's only source of consolation was a lot of pressure. Worse still, Beca felt terrible for feeling this way, for feeling suffocated when her friend was the who had been having the night terror. But still, the issue stood.

Beca rested her hands on Chloe's shoulders, rubbing gentle circles momentarily before she pulled the redhead back and stared deep into the glazed blue orbs that shone brightly even in the darkness. "you need to tell me what happened." she stated firmly. Of course, Chloe didn't need to do anything, but one thing Beca had remembered from her various post-parental-divorce therapists was that talking about your dreams helped, apparently.

Chloe sniffled, her nose wrinkling adorably (which Beca chastised herself for noticing; Chloe's appearance shouldn't of been important in that moment) and then nodded, albeit hesitant at first. "O-okay." She mumbled weakly, her voice croaking and sore. Chloe adjusted her posture and took a deep, shaking breath before flexing her hands out.

"You can't tell anyone." She said. Beca scowled. "...Sure."

Chloe was silent for a moment, the cogs in her head turning and figuring out her words. Her lip was clamped in her teeth, brows furrowed with thought. "Okay." She repeated, with a self assured nod.

"Okay?" Beca replied, slightly puzzled by Chloe's odd change in demeanour.

"Beca...what I'm gonna tell you, you must promise to never tell another person, not even Aubrey." "Jesus christ Chloe, you're telling me a dream, calm down. Besides I have no reason to tell blondie." Beca smirked.

The redhead shook her head. "No, you see...I'm gonna tell you something else." The Dj's eyes grew wide and her stomach dropped. She simultaneously wanted to learn this confession and hide her head in the sand (or this case, pillow) and pretend to not hear. Nevertheless, the brunette feigned casual composure and gestured for Chloe to continue.

"Okay-" Beca chuckled nervously at another repetition of the word and for a second, Chloe smiled too, but it was bittersweet and short lived. Chloe continued "-, so you know that New York trip and the 'incident'?" She indicated with air quotes and Beca nodded in recognition.

"Well...the incident...it's uh-" Chloe swallowed a lump in her throat and blinked rapidly a few times to prevent any more tears that threatened to fall. "-It's difficult to talk about. Not even Aubrey knows, Beca." At the focus grabbing mention of her name, Beca's eyes met Chloe's and they shared a challenging gaze.

"Chloe, what are you-" "No, Beca just let me speak, please." The older woman choked on her words a little and had to take a moment to recompose. With a sigh, she continued once more, words increasingly weaker.

"We were all out for a night on the town, the old Bellas including Aubrey and I. We were at this shabby club, and I felt uncomfortable... So, I went outside and waited. Little did I know that the area of town we were in was not the safest of places...This-" Chloe paused, taking a deep breath which earned a concerned glare and another comforting arm touch from Beca, to which the redhead only replied to with a sad smile.

Chloe gestured vaguely. "This guy showed up. He pestered me for a while, saying he'd show me a good time...and in the end, he did have a good time."

Beca frowned. She wouldn't believe it, she refused to. Like a record stuck on repeat, the DJ uttered, "Chloe, what are you-" only to be cut off once again.

Chloe's voice was thick but surprisingly cold. The redhead's lips went tight to help prevent their trembling that came before her words and the crying that would follow them. "I was raped, Beca."


	6. Chapter 6

Beca's jaw dropped, as did every thread of hope that remained in her body.   
When she tried to speak, the Dj could only muster breathy whispers that repeated the same phrase thrice, each time slower than the last.   
"Oh my god." 

Chloe glanced down and rubbed her tearful eyes. She almost felt ashamed, almost like she was unclean and not deserving of sympathy.   
"I'm sorry." The redhead sighed, the distinct crack in her voice muffled by her hand as she tried to stop the inevitable sobbing. 

"hey," Beca cooed softly. The brunette used her index finger against Chloe's jaw to redirect the begrudged woman's gaze into her own and then rested her hand on Chloe's leg, rubbing soothing circles with her thumb. Beca's expression was gentle, a kind of reserved, sad smile that Chloe had never seen before and for a moment, she felt safe.   
"Don't ever, ever apologise for something like that, Chloe. You are so strong and amazing and I can't believe someone would ever do something so terrible like that..." 

Chloe's face screwed up; she drew into herself, knees hugged to her chest and let out a whimper. Then, the tears fell. They were mostly silent apart from the few sobs that racked her body, making her shudder harshly.   
Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe again, less hesitantly than before and held the redhead close, letting tears stain her pyjamas whilst she stroked her hand comfortingly up and down the woman's back. 

For the first time, Beca felt she had gotten it right; she had broken through her own insecurities and reached out to help somebody. It felt alien, but it was feeling that was welcomed. All the brunette could feel right now was Chloe's pain and heartache being poured into her (literally and metaphorically) but she didn't want to run, no, she wanted to stay.   
"I'm here Chloe, don't forget that." 

The redheaded nodded into the crook of Beca's neck.   
"Thank you." She said, her voice but a whisper. 

The two sat in their surprisingly intimate (as Beca had noticed) embrace for a short while. Chloe's sobs soon quietened and were eventually hiccupped coughs that periodically broke the nightly silence. Beca glanced at the digital clock, the green luminous numbers reading 4.32am and then she let out a lengthy exhale. The Dj wasn't exactly tired anymore but she could feel Chloe's body becoming limp against her own, how the redhead's breathing was slowed and surely enough was falling into a slumber. 

Beca knew she couldn't let go of her, not just because of the awkward positioning, but because the brunette was worried. Worried that Chloe might have another nightmare, one that's worse than the last. So Beca didn't let go, she just relaxed her body onto the mattress and allowed Chloe's body to cuddle up close. Beca admitted to herself that it felt oddly right, as If their bodies just fitted together. 

The brunette smiled, catching the older woman's delicate scent as she breathed in. She closed her eyes and felt an unfamiliar warmth in the pit of her stomach as she relaxed her arms around Chloe's waist. She led there for a while and listened to the other woman's gentle breathing, a calming sound in the unnerving silence of the early morning. 

Her mind was slowly getting clouded, her consciousness slipping as she began to fall asleep. She still wasn't tired (or so she thought) but there was something about being so close to another person that made her want to sleep, a stark change from the usual insomna that racked her mind. The Dj, now sure in the fact that Chloe was sleeping safe and soundly, allowed this tiredness to take her for once and it was a matter of minutes until she lost all grip of reality. 

X-X-X-X 

"MOTHERFUCKER!" 

A clatter of crockery and that voice was the sound that promptly awoke Chloe the following morning. She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked over to Beca's side of the bed, which was disappointingly empty and sighed. She thought the brunette's voice was a lot closer in her sleep laden confusion but it turned out it had come from the kitchen. 

Chloe slumped back into the sheets and groaned; her head was throbbing and she was dehydrated and generally felt awful. She contemplated getting out of bed, but the redhead still felt drained from last night's revelations and so she just cuddled further into the plush pillows and rested her eyes. 

Minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Chloe heard Beca's hushed tones as she called out to the older woman in an attempt to see if she was awake yet.   
"Hey...hey Chlo', you up?"   
"Mmyeah, hey Beca." Chloe murmured softly, her eyes fluttering opening. 

 

A hope filled grin adorned Beca's features.   
"Oh!" she replied, slightly startled. "Uh...how are you feeling?" The Dj then entered the room; she held a tray on which there was a glass of orange juice and a stack of pancakes topped with syrup. She set it in front of Chloe and gave a meek smile as the redhead looked to the food then to Beca with a surprised adoration.   
"I'm okay, I suppose." Chloe responded automatically as she took the fork from the tray and ate a part of a pancake thoughtfully. Instantly, her demeanour changed and she gave a small smile. "Though, the food is helping." 

Beca shrugged passively.   
"I just wanted to try and brighten your day a little..." She admitted, a small blush crawling up her cheeks. Chloe giggled then took a sip of her orange juice, letting the cool liquid soothe her achy throat before she finally placed the cup on the bedside table. It's in this short space of time that she decided to be honest with Beca, because it's the least she could do.   
"You already brightened my day enough, by being there for me." Chloe then leaned out of the bed and planted a chaste kiss on the DJ's cheek and within seconds, Beca's face was burning red. 

"I uh...oh, it was nothing." The DJ gushed as she brushed her hand over the spot where Chloe's warm lips had been. She ached to feel it again, but as the situation wasn't exactly appropriate, she just smiled and continued to stand there awkwardly. 

"It wasn't really, Becs," Chloe mused with a slight sigh.   
"Y'know, you're a much better person than you think you are...why can't you see that?"   
Beca remained silent for a moment, then shrugged again.   
"It's easier that way."   
Chloe took a few more bites of food before pushing the tray aside. She ushered The DJ to sit on the mattress next to her and when they were at eye level, Chloe's expression turned serious.   
"It's also really lonely." 

Silence fell upon the room. Chloe's crystal eyes bored into Beca's uncomfortably and held the brunette in place. Beca only stared back anxiously, her hands fumbling with the sheets as she tried to keep their intimate eye contact, but it was too much. Her eyes faltered for a second before she moved her line of sight towards a non-specific spot on the wall. Then she looked down, disappointed.   
"Yeah." She agreed meekly before standing up; she took the tray (which she wrongly assumed Chloe was finished with) and left. 

The redhead sat alone, dumbfounded by Beca's odd behaviour. She pinched the bridge of her nose with a saddened exhale.   
"You're such an idiot, Beale. What was I thinking?" 

Then, Beca reappeared in the doorway . It seemed she had heard the self criticising words bitterly muttered by Chloe because she shook her head in disagreement.   
"You're not an idiot Chlo'-" Beca smirked. "-because if you're an idiot, then what am I, hm?"   
The Dj crossed her arms and leant against the doorframe, signature smile adorned her features and Chloe simply scowled. What's the sudden change of heart for? 

"You're acting weird." She stated.   
Bec'sa hand fell to her heart dramatically.   
"Oh, you wound me!" The brunette cried sarcastically and Chloe couldn't help but giggle. Sure, Beca's strangeness concerned her, but she put that to the back of her mind and instead watched in amusement as Beca flopped on the bed and chuckled.   
"But seriously, there's no point in moping around, right?" 

(Truth be told, Beca could see many points to moping around but she wanted Chloe to be at ease. So after having tidied the kitchen, she had put her on greatest smile and was going to start the day anew. Only after hearing Chloe's self doubt had she decided to turn it down a notch.) 

Chloe smiled.   
"You're quite correct, m'lady!" She giggled, booping her finger on Beca's nose as the brunette rolled onto her back.   
"M'lady, hm? Well then, good sir, what are we doing today?" Beca asked, her feigned happiness now a little overkill, but Chloe didn't mind. 

The redhead looked thoughtful for a moment, then raised her finger enthusiastically as she remembered the day's plans.   
"Today, we're gonna go on a lengthy walk through the forest!"   
Beca's wide grin dropped, eyebrows raised in a sudden exasperation.   
"Sorry, what?" 

"Yeah, there's this nature trail...it looks really beautiful, Beca." Chloe smiled simply at the brunette, whom smirked softly in reply.   
"That could be fun..." Beca deadpanned, face dead straight for a second until she caught Chloe's disappointment. Then she chuckled, playfully shoving the redhead's arm.   
"Jeez! I'm kidding!" 

The DJ then tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gestured towards the bathroom with her thumb. "I'm already showered...so, I'll just wait for you."   
"Awesome, I won't be long."   
Beca smirked. "Take all the time you need." 

X-X-X-X 

Turned out 'not long' was meant to be taken literally as within 20 minutes, the twosome were already outside. They walked past Chloe's car and onto a path with patched gravel and weeds that were littered in small clusters.   
Beca carried a small backpack with water and lunch whilst Chloe simply carried a camera. The weight distribution seemed hardly fair in Beca's opinion, considering she was smaller than the redhead and definitely not as strong (It was at this point Beca realised how often she stared at Chloe's toned arms and she couldn't stop the blush that regrettably edged up her face). 

"Hurry up short stack!" Chloe chimed as she skipped a few paces then came to an abrupt stop; the older woman grabbed her camera from where it hung around her neck and then pointed it at a plant. With her tongue stuck out in concentration and Beca chuckling at said expression, she clicked the shutter and grinned. 

"I should hurry up? If you're gonna be taking pictures all day we're not gonna get anywhere!" Beca retorted quickly as she snatched the camera from Chloe's clutches and ran off into the trees.   
"Beca?!" Chloe screeched, breaking into a sprint but the DJ was surprisingly quick and had hidden herself amongst the nature, much to Chloe's surprise. 

Beca chuckled to herself as she crouched behind a fallen tree trunk. She peered over the edge, watching in amusement as Chloe looked around, lost and then kicked a few leaves in frustration. She then picked up the camera, looking at it hesitantly before she turned it on.   
"Let's see what we have here." She mumbled to herself through a smirk. 

Beca pressed one of the buttons and the image changed. She saw various photos of plants, animals, the university grounds and what seemed to be drunken nights out (though, most of those ones were blurred and Beca could only guess what was happening.) Though, the older the pictures were, the more personal they seemed to get. There were family members, her and Aubrey at rehearsals. Then, Chloe's bedroom, her bathroom, a picture in her mirror then suddenly Beca saw a flash of undressed skin and unclasped breasts and- 

"What are you looking at?!" Chloe's voice boomed over Beca.The DJ jumped, yelping as she scrambled to her feet, away from the prying eyes. She clicked the various buttons on the camera in a mad panic. The image flickered off the screen and then she thrusted the device towards the older woman.   
"Nothing." Beca replied shortly. 

Chloe quirked a brow, "You're being weird."   
"I'm always weird." Beca deadpanned; she turned away and walked in a random direction that was almost definitely not leading them back to the path. 

Chloe jogged behind the brunette, nudging her playfully as they travelled under the canopy of trees. The sun was dappled through the branches and bird song could be heard through the gentle breeze. They moved in silence for a while, taking in the nature for what it's worth. 

"...Hey Beca, where are we going?"   
Beca pursed her lips. She looked to her left, then to her right and finally towards the sky then shrugged.   
"I have no idea." She eventually replied, a little hopeless. Then she chuckled.   
"But I can hear water running over there." The Dj pointed to an opening in the trees and began to head in it's direction. 

Beca moved a few branches as she trampled through into the clearing, having to shield her eyes as the bright sun bared down on unsuspecting eyes.   
Chloe followed, though she was a little hesitant.   
"We should probably head back to the- Oh my god." The redhead's eyes lit up as the scenery unfolded in front of them. 

It was a small rock formation that lead to a pool of fresh water and to the side there was a waterfall which churned water rapidly into the pool from a drop of at least 30ft. Beca took a few amazed steps forward then turned to Chloe with a smug smile.   
"What was that about turning back?" She asked, her tone cocky.   
"...Never mind." Chloe replied, her awed expression and completely lack of regard to Beca's confidence causing the brunette's expression to soften. 

"Oh, it's beautiful Becs...This what the kind of place I was telling you about!" Chloe exclaimed. She threw her arms up, feeling glorified in the moment and tackle hugged Beca, the Dj letting out a yelp at she fell to the ground. 

Chloe lead on top of Beca, and they both laughed breathily and grinned ecstatically and the moment couldn't have been better if they had tried.   
Then, Beca's mind had a burst of confidence. It was perfect. Chloe was perfect and now? She wanted to finally admit it. 

The redhead rolled off Beca and they sat on the sandy ground.   
"Uh, so Chloe," The Dj began "I wanna tell you something. You told me your secret, so I want to tell you mine-" Beca swallowed the lump in her throat and repressed the butterflies that ran havoc in her stomach.   
Chloe's faced dropped. She look concerned, then intrigued and finally she smiled gently.   
"Well, fire away!" 

This was it. Beca exhaled slowly and clasped her hands together.   
"I really like-" The word stuck in her throat and she gaped dumbly.   
"I mean, I-"   
"What I'm trying to say is-"   
The Dj then gestured to the water fall and grinned "I really like this waterfall!" The mouth clamped shut. She mentally slapped herself (The waterfall?! Seriously?!) but kept her face straight. 

Chloe frowned, then a questioning smile played her lips.   
"Have I ever told you that you're acting weird?"   
Beca smiled tightly.   
"Yep." She replied tautly. 

Then Beca stood, she turned to the face the water, took a running start and dived in. She herself hadn't expected she would actually manage to do it, but as the cool water hit her skin, she was actually rather relieved in her choice. In the few seconds she was under water she cursed to her hearts content about her miserably failed 'feelings' attempt and then as she rose to the surface, she adorned a grin on her face and shrugged comically.   
"I said I liked the waterfall." She deadpanned. 

Chloe's face was a mixture of disbelief and shock.   
"Still weird." She stated, approaching the edge cautiously after having abandoned their belongings.   
"Always." Beca replied bluntly as she grabbed Chloe's ankle. Despite the redhead's protests, the younger woman pulled her in, a variety of swears muffled in the loud splash that followed Chloe's entrance into the pool. 

"You bitch!" Chloe yelled playfully. Beca swam away frantically, chuckling loudly as she was chased. She swam behind the waterfall, to a cave like area where water still dropped heavily but not enough to wipe someone away. 

"Your ass is mine Mitchell. Just wait until I get there!" Chloe's yells echoed around the cavern and her figured appeared from behind the wall of water, where she stood there arms crossed (fortunately, as Beca now realised, where the waterfall fell was shallow enough to stand, so she joined her comically angered friend ) 

The water crashed down on them both and Chloe was unable to keep her eyes open.   
"Why don't you just move?" Beca suggested, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.   
Chloe shook her head. "Nah, this feels aca-awesome." 

The redhead spread her arms and allowed the full force of nature to collide with her body. Beca watched with an adoring smile and suddenly that confidence flickered back into her head again. Though words had failed her last time, and she was damn sure they'd fail again. So, on a whim, Beca tiptoed ever closer to Chloe, gaining an up close view of her flawless face with the water that quenched it almost poetically and her lips, lightly curled in a smile. 

The water that crashed down on them was the perfect disguise of her movements. Beca leaned closer, and closer, then her lips lightly brushed Chloe's cheek before they retracted quickly and the DJ jumped back. She froze, her heated cheeks an easy give away of her recent actions. She waited for Chloe's eyes to open, for her disgusted frown and bitter words. But they didn't happen.   
Beca had gotten away with it.   
It seemed unlikely, but she had. 

The Dj was grinning when Chloe's eyes finally squinted open.   
"What are you so happy about?" The redhead smirked.   
Beca shrugged.   
"The waterfall is actually really beautiful, I totally agree."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter may be triggering for those sensitive to alcohol abuse or rape. I apologise for the inconvenience.
> 
> Also, to the awesome person who gave my work really sophisticated comments, there's an author's note at the bottom of the chapter for you :)

The rest of Beca's and Chloe's day continued generally without hitch. After they had enjoyed swimming for a while, they experienced the somewhat uncomfortable ordeal of having to walk around a large forest (Of which they regrettably had forgotten a map of) with clothes soaked beyond any point of wearability. 

Beca was going to suggest taking off said clothing, but similarly to how her words failed a few hours prior, she found herself speechless. Her jaw had opened a couple times, as if to speak , but every time she instead managed a comment about the specific direction they should've been headed in, or lack thereof. 

After few stern words and arms that frustratedly extended with pointed fingers, the twosome finally found themselves back on the path they started. Beca huffed silently as she followed the redhead, still sure that her way would've been quicker. Though, as they neared the cabin, Beca withheld those thoughts because perhaps she was wrong. It surprised herself that she admitted it, but she'd be doing it a lot recently, so perhaps it was all a good thing. 

Those thoughts backed up in her mind, the DJ caught up to her older friend and with a little nudge, caught her attention.   
"So...what're we gonna do for the rest of the night?"   
Chloe shrugged and then scowled for a second as she picked a stray leaf from her damp clothing.   
"I don't know, Becs," She sounded as if she was going to continue, but then decided against it, so she simply shrugged again. 

Beca rolled her eyes. She looked down at her clothing, then ran her hand through her straggled hair; 'as much as fun that swimming was, it was not worth the damage'' she thought.   
"I'm grabbing a beer when I get inside then I'm having a shower, you want one?"   
Chloe giggled "which one, the beer or the shower?" then she winked, a playful yet oddly seductive smile on her lips. 

Beca's eyes widened, a deep shade of red flushed her mortified (read: embarrassed) expression.   
"I-uh, the b-beer" The brunette stammered.   
Chloe grinned innocently "Of course, I'd love one!" She replied, her tone chipper. Then, she slapped Beca appreciatively on the back.   
"Go on then," she urged "I want an ice cold beer in my hand by the time I reach the couch!" 

Beca raised her eyebrows and scoffed.   
"What?! Since when do I take orders from you?"   
"Since you pulled me into a body of water against my own will."   
Beca fell silent for a second.   
"Fine, challenge accepted." 

The Dj then increased her pace, opening up the door to the cabin and making her way to the fridge without a second to lose. Though, she paused a few steps in and looked guiltily to the floor. With a sigh, she kicked off her dripping flip flops and nudged them to rest by the doorframe. 

She could hear Chloe's intentionally loud humming as the older woman approached. Beca hissed obscenities; her feet fleeted towards the refrigerator. She opened it's door violently, grabbed two beers, setting one on the table before she dashed back, opened the remaining can and held it out to Chloe, who's remarkably stunned and impressed expression was the sweetest victory Beca could have wished for. 

"Wow, you actually did it," The older woman's voice was laced with surprise, to which brunette took mock offence.   
"You thought I wouldn't?" She queried, returning to the kitchen space to retrieve her can.   
"The Beca Mitchell I know wouldn't have done anything for anyone." Chloe hit back with a light smirk. 

Beca rolled her eyes playfully, "Well, it's good I'm not that Beca Mitchell then. I'm now the Beca Mitchell that goes on vacations with her college a capella friend for no apparent reason."   
Chloe chuckled at the comment and the younger woman's deadpan delivery. They both took sips of their beers before Chloe then gestured towards Beca.   
"No reason? I'm sure there's some superior motive lurking in that deep, mysterious brain of yours."   
"No there's not." Beca retorted defensively, her mood suddenly dampened. She put her beer on the table, the can making a defiant thud against the silence that quickly settled on the room. 

The Dj sighed. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I'm gonna go take that shower now." The brunette turned swiftly and walked away, leaving Chloe once again confused and dumbfounded by her odd behaviour.   
The redhead drank from her can, swirled it to see how much contents it still had left and then downed it, making a guttural grunt as the harsh taste hit her throat. The sensation burned, but she welcomed the feeling, a softer mutter of "Jesus Christ" escaping on her exhale. 

Chloe discarded her can and promptly opened the fridge for another. 

X-X-X-X 

15 minutes later, Beca re-emerged from the hallway, dressed in sweat pants and a plain shirt. She shrugged as Chloe noticed her and grinned comically.   
"What? I like my comfort sometimes."   
Chloe chuckled "Can't complain about that." She smiled, her features a little sickly. 

Beca reclaimed her drink, took a sip then gestured to Chloe's.   
"That still your first one?" She asked.   
Chloe eyed the 2 empty cans she had already thrown into the trash before she reverted her fogged gaze to Beca. She nodded. 

"Finish up and we'll start another round." Beca encouraged heartily, a sincere smile on her face.   
Chloe nodded again and downed the can and once more relished in the liquid's alcoholic sting.   
She slammed her can on the table, and grand smile adorned upon her face. Beca glanced upwards to the redhead, her blank expression now a smirk.   
"Screw that! Let's drink like real college kids!" 

Chloe then scuttled to one of the various kitchen cupboards out of Beca's reach, opened it and produced a bottle of vodka. She held it out to Beca, her expression confident and teasing.   
The DJ gawped "You gotta be kidding..."   
Chloe giggled as she twisted off the cap, "Nope!" 

Chloe then left the bottle unattended on the table for a moment as she located two shot glasses and placed them adjacent. She poured a measure of the alcohol into both, and gestured for Beca to take hers, which the brunette did so reluctantly. The redhead took her own and tried to stop the tipsy shaking of her hand as she held the small glass to her lip, worried Beca might notice. 

Then, She started a countdown.   
"3,"   
"-Chloe, I can't do this,"   
"Don't be a pussy, Mitchell. 2.."   
" But Chlo-   
"-1." 

X-X-X-X 

An unmeasured amount of time later and both girls were sprawled on the couch, giggling at unspecific comments. After 4 rounds of shots (Or was it 5? Beca had long since forgotten) they returned to beer and they both clutched a can haphazardly.   
Beca wasn't sure when she realised she was drunk, or when Chloe was drunk for that matter, but their mellowed mood and conversation that flowed easy was certainly not something she wished to complain about, not at this point anyway. 

"No no no," The Dj gabbled. she waved her hand to silence the endless slur of words coming from Chloe's mouth before she took a swig from her can and continued, "but seriously, like...you know last night?" 

Chloe stared blankly then blinked a couple times.   
"you know? last night?" The brunette repeated, emphasising her words to comic effect.   
The older woman's loose jaw tightened, and she scowled.   
"Yeah..." Chloe's voice lacked clarity and had a bitter undertone, but Beca took her answer anyway. 

"Like...I just, I've never really done that before, you know?" The brunette then sat up, her feet planted firmly on the floor, her back hunched. She turned her head towards Chloe, an expectant look in her eyes. 

For a moment the drunken blur of her vision receded as her gaze caught Chloe's. The redhead's eyes were glazed, the alcohol having taken the judicious twinkle they normally held but her eyes were still captivating and not even Beca's insobriety could stop that.   
"Quit starin'," Chloe grumbled. 

The Dj's head turned sharply towards the floor. Within the mad scramble that was her brain, she constructed sentences, ones that wouldn't give away just how drunken she felt. She stared at her hands, of which she saw blurred doubles and her stomach churned. Her gaze then faltered and drew blank, staring absently towards the wood panelled flooring. She wanted some sort of recognition of last night's events and it was only now she felt able to speak, undeterred by the mental block that being sober brought upon. Though, Chloe has just out right ignored her and it seemed likely to happen again; the booze in her veins just told her 'Talk more. Think Less.' 

"We need to talk about it Chlo',"   
Silence replied to her.   
"Come on, I'm shit at this stuff, give me a hand here!" The brunette cried; her exasperation merely caused Chloe to huff.   
"Nothing to talk about." The redhead mumbled back as she took her can and drank to prevent the sharp tongued words she wished to follow up with. 

"You've drank enough," Beca paused and set down her beer. "We've drank enough." She reiterated.   
"Nope." Chloe sighed, downing her beer. 

Next, Beca stood and drunkenly stumbled to Chloe's couch, where she collapsed into it. She took the empty can from Chloe's grasp, grimaced then dropped it to the floor.   
"Give me something, anything..." She whispered. 

The redhead eyed Beca and sighed. "You did good" She finally mumbled, shooting a somewhat sardonic smile.   
"Yes," Chloe continued, " You took the broken fucking rape victim and fixed her, didn’t you?"   
Beca scowled "I-what?"   
Chloe adorned a harsh grin, slurred syllables increasingly angrier "Yeah! You did so awesome that now she doesn't need nights of drinking alone in her room to get rid of the poisonous thoughts in her head!"   
The brunette's expression read mortified as she watched Chloe's alcohol fuelled rage. She reclined into herself and watched as the older woman looked towards her with what only could be described as self-stemmed hatred. Chloe didn't hate Beca, but who else could have absorbed her level of dysfunction? 

"I wasn't going to say that." Beca eventually countered meekly. She could feel the warm numbness of the alcohol leaving; far from sober, but scared enough to feel like it.   
Chloe chucked darkly, " Well I fucking did." 

Silence settled in the room for a second time that day. Both sat, one scared for her life, the other too inebriated to care.   
Chloe stood, staggered to the fridge and opened it. Beca turned her head, unsurprised with the sight she saw. Chloe, can in hand, stared Beca down before she pulled the tab. The gasses that escaped hissed, breaking the fragile muteness. Chloe brought the can to her lips and drank slowly; she then pulled out a chair from the table and slumped in it. 

Beca swallowed the lump in her throat, stood shakily and traipsed over to Chloe. She was tentative in her movements and froze when the redhead shot her a glare, though persisted through the icy gaze to join her companion at the table. The brunette grabbed her own chair and sat adjacent to Chloe.   
"I'm sorry...I had no idea what to say and I still don't," Beca dropped her head into her hands, "I didn't know you...acted, like this." The words came out and they sounded wrong to the Dj's ears the moment she said it. she disliked her own words but unable to change them, she could only wait upon Chloe's response, which followed a few seconds later. 

"What do you mean 'acted'?" The redhead lifted her head and then her hands messily made air quotes.   
"Shit." Beca muttered, " I don't - I mean...I didn't-" The brunette tried in vain to explain herself, every quarter strung sentence merging between the blurred line of where thought met vocal chord.   
"Save it Beca." Chloe said, her voice dangerously soft. "I get it. I'm happy, right? I'm always happy." 

Beca stayed silent, unable to deduct Chloe's challenge glare.   
The redhead grabbed her drink, staring at it for a few moments, then she clambered to the sink and poured it away. She sat back down, seemingly unaffected.   
"I don't 'act' the victim..." She added, the ringing slur in her voice returning. Then, the older woman gave a devilish, sly smile. "But how do you act the victim...what does a victim do?" Every syllable, though lacking physical clarity, was sharp in Beca's ears. It clawed at the Dj and struck fear in her bones. 

"Do they get clingy?" She asked rhetorically, her hand now grasped tightly on Beca's arm.   
"Chloe," The younger warned light; only cut off by wild blue eyes, misted by alcohol.   
"No?" Chloe said with feigned shock, her body swaying slightly with her exaggerated actions.   
"Do they get fucked up then?"   
Beca scowled, "I don't know what tha-" 

There was no time to answer. Vodka laced lips crashed against Beca's, a seething angst in their pressure. Beca jolted at the sudden force against her, Chloe's dominating strength brandished her helpless. The Dj was easily half as drunk as the redhead, yet she couldn't escape the fiery grasp of her. The kisses weren't passionate or of love, they were of a frustrated victim of whom (through un-recommended methods) found herself unable to keep herself controlled. 

Beca writhed against the warm, rough feel of the older woman. She wanted Chloe, but not like this. She pushed against Chloe, failing to deter. Then she pushed harder, a desperate cry of Chloe's name the final measure in getting the redhead to fall back. 

They searched each other's gazes. Beca looked for remorse whilst Chloe looked for forgiveness. The Dj found what she wanted, yet Chloe had no such luck.   
Beca stood from the table. She was done.   
"Good night Chloe." 

The brunette left the kitchen and Chloe to her own drunken devices. The older woman turned in her chair to face the fridge, then sighed. She couldn't do it.   
Even the alcohol wasn't her friend anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, this chapter is somewhat a demonstration of what I meant. Hopefully, I did not disappoint.   
> if I did, then all I can say is writing drunkenness is not one of my forte's, but I'm working on it ;)


	8. Chapter 8

The ever familiar clatter of a frying pan was the sound that awoke Chloe. Though this time, it clawed through her heavy sleep, thick with the aftermath of a heavy night's drinking and dragged the consciousness within out, kicking and screaming.

Chloe's eyes shot open, blinked blearily a few times and then winced as the sound continued to pulsate around the room. The redhead groaned as her hand shot towards her pounding head, the headache she had tempted her to cry in agony and writhe against the sticky leather of the couch of which she had painfully torn herself away from.

Upon shakily sitting up, Chloe shivered. She looked down, realising she had fallen asleep in the same clothing she wore yesterday. They reeked of beer and sweat and were most certainly the cause of her chill.  
Though her mind was groggy and told her not to, she stood, sights set on a blanket across the room. Unfortunately, the other couch appeared nearly a million miles away when her legs collapsed beneath her and she thudded to the floor.  
"Oh god." Chloe groaned, "I fucked up. I fucked up bad." Her head rested in a defeated manner on the couch and she spied a bucket facing her, no doubt haphazardly placed there by Beca.

Speaking of the brunette, Beca was now stood literal steps away from Chloe. She scowled, her arms crossed tightly and looked upon the older woman with a pitying glare. Chloe looked up helplessly. She didn't try to smile at the DJ, but instead she tried to stand again and managed to end up on the couch, but no further. Her pathetic attempts caused Beca's silence and glare to become a statement in themselves.

There was a silence, more deathly and intimate than other silences that the two had held ever before. Chloe simply looked at Beca, her eyes dulled and expression tired. The Dj wouldn't allow herself to forgive the redhead so easily, and so she pulled herself away before she offered any consolation. Beca returned to the stove and cooked, suddenly finding the bacon she had fried so very interesting.

It remained like this for a while. Beca cooked and Chloe watched. The smell of the bacon caused Chloe's stomach to churn; she gagged a little and pulled the bucket close but was fortunate to avoid an' Aubrey situation' and so she dropped the plastic container to the floor. It slammed loudly on the wooden flooring and gave her a harsh reminder that her head was feeling sensitive , causing her to whimper a little.  
Had she been looking, she may have caught Beca's mild smirk that accompanied.

Eventually the Dj finished her task; she placed the bacon on a plate and moved to the table. She sat and ate in silence, her gaze either on the plate or directed towards the wall.  
Chloe couldn't bear the silent treatment, especially from Beca and her broken expression was too a show of her predicament. The redhead gritted her teeth and pursed her lips and even chastised herself, but she had words to say and she was damned if she couldn't say them.

"Beca," She started. Her voice was dry and cracked.  
No reply.  
"Beca." Chloe repeated, firmer.  
The brunette placed her fork down and sighed. She slowly turned her head towards Chloe, and her eyes flickered on Chloe's features expectantly. Though, the one sided silence remained.

"Look, I'm sorry." Chloe mumbled sheepishly. The older woman looked down and she ran her finger across the lower lid of her eye, wiping a stray tear from pale skin. A sniff followed, then Chloe's voice once more, thick with emotion.  
"I'm so, so sorry...I don't know what got into me. I can make it up to you I prom-"  
"Save it, Chloe." Beca interrupted, echoing the redhead's words from the previous evening. "It's fine." She added tautly before she reclaimed her cutlery but the food had suddenly lost it's appeal and she pushed the plate away.

"It's not fine." Chloe sighed. The weight of her spinning head and construed thoughts was almost too much and she stared dumbly at Beca for a moment whilst she attempted to collate her ideas (although, with her body recently flushed of alcohol, this was harder than it first seemed).

"Everything," Chloe gestured , "that I did last night, I apologise for. The drunkenness, the anger, the kiss, everything."  
The older woman looked meek and broken. The way her words rolled off her tongue, laced with disappointment within herself and regret for her actions was almost too heart breaking for Beca. Chloe's eyes held a sad glisten of tears that tempted to fall if she was to be put down again and Beca wasn't sure if she could do that.

The brunette ran hands through her strangled locks and looked at Chloe, her expression surprisingly light.  
"It's fine." She repeated plainly.

Chloe looked pained, her brows raised and mouth hanging slightly. She didn't deserve to be forgiven so easily but at the same time, forgiveness was all she wanted. Bottom lip now caught between her teeth, the voice that escaped her mouth was slightly muffled, though the doubt sewn into the words was clear as day.  
"Are you sure?"

Beca nodded slowly. Her eyes finally flickered upwards; they met Chloe's and in a moment of pure awe, the brunette saw the hopeful glimmer return to the sky blue iris' and it was like Chloe had become anew. Though the redhead retained the tiredness and generally dishevelled appearance, there was now a lightness to her demeanour that Beca had oddly missed despite her shortness with the older woman over the past few minutes.

"It is completely and honestly fine," Beca reiterated once more, the corners of her mouth pulled upwards into a gentle smile. She exhaled and gave a shrug, " It was just unexpected..."  
The Dj's smile then saddened slightly. It was now sympathetic and the way Beca placed her hand on Chloe's arm in a comforting manner caught the redhead off guard (but to be honest, even Beca herself was unsure where she was going with this).

"Chloe," Beca started. Her mouth caressed the older woman's name and spoke it softly, as if any louder would be intimidating and in reply Chloe stared, enthralled by the tender tones.  
"I'm worried about you."  
Beca's stormy eyes bared mercilessly into the redhead's; they showed compassion and genuine fear. It was something very alien to Beca's often inexpressive eyes and it caught Chloe cold, sending a shiver down her spine.  
Beca continued, "You said some things last night...that I couldn't believe and well...I want to talk about it." Every nerve in the brunette's body screamed at her to back out and not do anymore delving into the redhead's psychology but she pushed through, despite her better judgement. Chloe needed help and she was condemned if she didn't try.

Beca removed herself from the table, skirted around the couch and then dropped onto it adjacent to Chloe, who was yet to respond. Whilst she waited, Beca simply draped her hand back to the other woman's forearm and drew comforting circles with her thumb.  
"Is this okay?" Beca queried.  
Chloe nodded, "It's perfect," she mumbled quietly and the brunette strained to listen though retracted when the redhead's glare dismissed the action.

"Okay...how about you just talk and I'll listen? I'll hear every word and take it all in and I'll try to understand. I might not be able to help, but I can listen...It would take some of the weight off your shoulders, at least I think it might." Beca suggested, obviously having taken great care in her words as shown from how her eyebrows knitted into a thoughtful scowl and her mouth trembled on every pause between words.  
Chloe scratched the back of her neck, nodding slowly as she did. "Yeah..." She murmured passively.

"Okay?" Beca asked, requesting confirmation.  
"Okay."

Beca's hand slid down Chloe's arm to rest the redhead's own. The Dj's palms were warm against the icy back of older Bella's; it was a welcomed balance that Chloe found solace in, the gesture feeling somewhat romanticised despite it's (not at all) innocent intentions. The twosome looked into each others eyes and shared a trustful smile, one that didn't push the boundaries of their current situation yet neither diminished it.

They stared at each other longingly for a moment. Beca actually wondered about leaning in and kissing Chloe in that small time period but then realised the moment was oh-so wrong and it would only lead to further problems.  
It seemed Chloe had realised this too, because she coughed and broke the gaze though flinched when Beca went to retract her arm. Consequently, the brunette moved back, the warmth returning where It had so been dearly missed for the few seconds it's touch was lost.

Chloe gave a subtle smile, one full of sad reminiscence and she looked up to Beca, who's silent, focused demeanour gave incentive for her to talk, to let go of the memories that haunted her and confront them.

"Where do I start?" Chloe asked, her voice small and somewhat lost.  
Beca frowned; thought adorned in the scowl. "Well...I know what happened...so, what about the aftermath?" The Dj suggested gently, afraid about putting Chloe out of her comfort zone It felt like an odd twist of personalities, truth be told. Beca wasn't used to being the forward one and her awkward approach was more than evidence of it.

Chloe nodded, "Sure..."  
The redhead ran shaky hands through straggled hair, a nervous habit of hers Beca had noticed. Then, Chloe sniffed, rubbed her tired eyes and pulled a face of cogitation. Her face then went blank and her bottom lip trembled anxiously for second, as if she'd planned what to say but decided against the words chosen. The woman inhaled deeply, setting herself in the right mind frame. She relaxed her posture and began again, words hesitant.

"After the incident, things got bad," Chloe paused, choked on her word, more so as the memories flooded back. A literal wave of lonely nights and hatred filled the pit of her stomach, her vision darkening around the edges as she felt herself near the edge of an emotional breakdown.

She elicited a juddered breath and her eyes shut; clamped even tighter as an expression of dejection christened her tense features. Chloe felt dizzy and tears stung.  
She tried to continue, to no avail, "I...I turned t-to drugs - alcohol, to..."  
The redhead whimpered, weak at the flashes that burned behind her eyelids.

"To..." She still tried to press forward, but her words were lost to a breathy murmur overwhelmed by fresh tears that stained the pale skin of her cheek. Her hand brushed them away determinedly.

"To..." The words were now barely a whisper that merely escaped on the last exhale of her breath before Beca pulled her in tight. The brunette's arms wrapped around Chloe's sobbing frame, allowing the redhead to bury her face into the DJ's neck where darkness shrouded her vision and she could smell Beca's light shampoo and everything felt just a tiny bit safer for a moment. Beca's words, soft and encouraging, eventually broke this serenity but Chloe found a greater comfort in them than mere physical presence.

"It's okay. I couldn't just tell anyone that kind of stuff either..." Beca gently stroked her hand up and down Chloe's back. "You're really brave, Chlo'" She added, her sympathised words containing an air of uncertainty. Was she saying the right thing? She'd no clue.

Chloe still cried and wetted her clothes, but the way Chloe now clung to her for support seemed promising (for lack of a better word).  
The Dj continued stroking her hand up and down the older womans spine and waited until she was ready. Though in her weakened state, Chloe took to mumbling into Beca's shoulder, voice further construed from her sob strained throat.  
"I just wanted to feel normal...I want to feel normal." she cried.

It filled Beca's heart with wrenching ache as the redhead conformed herself to be 'abnormal' and 'wrong'. The brunette wanted to share how mistaken Chloe was and that Chloe was truly the only thing 'right' about her life but she doubted that right now if Chloe would believe her and so she clamped her mouth shut. Still, the pain remained like an unbearable thorn in her side. Whether Beca to particularly wanted to or not (which she didn't), she had to say something, anything.

The brunette placed her arms on Chloe's shoulder, lightly pushed the redhead back then gave a sad smile as she used her finger to wipe the tears from Chloe's glistening eyes. Then, her hand lightly caressed the wetted cheek before it broke away and Beca managed to intertwine her fingers with Chlose. It was a simple, swift gesture that left Chloe wide eyed; breathing shallow as Beca's careful nature made the moment suddenly fragile.

Beca fumbled with the hem of her shirt with her free hand. She looked down, suddenly shy with the words that balanced on the edge of her tongue so precariously. She swallowed hard and fought to make herself look into Chloe's eyes. Their hands, already linked, tightened around one another's.  
"I care about you Chloe…" Beca said, as if she's admitted a dark secret. In response, Chloe smiled sincerely though laced with mild amazement and the gentle sparkle in her eye only made Beca want to continue, yet at the same time, run away.  
"You could say I…" Beca's lips pursed, her eyes tightened shut. Say the damn thing, she urged herself, every fibre in her minuscule yelling to do the same.

"You could say that... I love you, and that I want to take care of you, make you feel normal." She gasped out quickly.  
"I don't really know, I've never wanted to do anything more for you ever since I found out. I suck at this stuff but I will try, I swear. I will probably fuck things up big time too, I just wanna make sure you know that I will attempt…whether it's actually helpful or not..." The Dj rambled wildly about her unsuccessful attempts of being sympathetic or helpful, to which Chloe giggled. It was the first genuine giggle the redhead had elicited In a while and Beca's heart swelled at the melodious sound.

The tears still fell and eyes were still heavy, but there was a upward curl of lips and a lightness to Chloe's expression that filled Beca with a sense of completeness.  
"Beca," The older woman said the name in a similar fashion to how Beca said hers earlier , tender and warm, "The fact you're here after what I did is enough."

It was true. The Beca that Chloe knew ran away when things got tough. Beca Mitchell was a alt 'badass' who was truly no tougher than a candle in the wind. Everything was a front, a mask, a disguise that behind it, held a sensitive and caring being who was just worried about getting it wrong. Today, and previous days also, Chloe had witnessed first hand the Beca behind the illusion and it was only after the Dj didn't run had Chloe realised how much this girl meant to her. The redhead literally doused their friendship out from one mistake, yet the ashes still burned and never truly went out.

In a jump back to reality, Chloe's final sentence seemed to have done the trick.  
There was an exchange of forgiving smiles and the twosome embraced once more, each nuzzling closer to the person they thought they'd lost until very recently. They sat for a while afterwards, the comfortable silence that floated in the air a sign of the reinstated tranquillity but further more a sign of a new beginning for the two.

Finally, Chloe clapped her hands onto her knees and eyed Beca, "Well...I need a shower."  
She stood, her actions now firmer than they were when she first awoke in her hung-over daze. She looked to Beca, who's mouth hung dumbly open.  
"Becs?" She questioned, sniffing her nose.  
The brunette looked over, "What?"  
"You okay?"  
"Yeah, it's a lot to take, I'm fine...are you okay, though?"  
Chloe sighed "I'm still here, aren't I?"  
Beca smirked, "Yeah, I suppose you are..." The DJ reached over and lightly patted Chloe's arm encouragingly the best she could from her position "I'm glad you are though. You're not going through this alone now, okay?"

Chloe nodded. Slowly, a hopeful smile adorned her features.  
"Okay."


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't much later when Chloe emerged from the bathroom, clad in fresh clothes and a rejuvenated smile that played on her lips. She quietly approached Beca from behind, the Dj blissfully unaware as she stood in front of the sink, various cans and bottles dripping with soap on either side. 

The older woman watched with enthrallment as Beca hummed to herself and gently swayed to the tune.   
"What are you doing?" The redhead queried innocently.   
Beca jumped and her fist slammed on the countertop in habitual defence,   
"Jesus!" the Dj hissed as her head turned sharply to Chloe, "how long have you been there?!"   
Chloe giggled, "Only a few seconds..."   
"I bet it was longer..." Came the muttered reply before Beca said aloud ",It's not like I would know anyway, you move so damn quietly."   
Chloe rolled her eyes good naturedly "You say that like it's a bad thing" 

Beca simply smirked and turned back to the sink. She grabbed a can, pulled the tab and then tipped it upside down, the brownish liquid it contained splashing carelessly into the basin and down the drain with a satisfying fizz. Once the last few drops fell, she placed it into the adjacent second basin filled with dishwater and sloshed it around. Whilst she was doing this, the brunette mused "Well, everything has its bad side." 

Chloe nodded in agreement then took a step closer. Beca handed her the can, wet with soapy water and Chloe dried it with a towel, letting it join the rest. 

The older woman hadn't noticed before how much alcohol she had actually brought. Now, with it all piled up and the severity of her problem confronting her, she found herself breathless. Her fingers lightly curled into fists and her eyes flickered with intensity, remorse and mostly, shock. It was pitiful and the limp hang to her head that brought her gaze to the floor was a reaction that Beca had somewhat expected, considering that the woman's demons were staring at her straight in the eye. 

The brunette lifted her hands from the sink and shook the water free before she dried them courteously on her jeans. Then, with a little step to the side (for her arms weren't long enough), she embraced Chloe and held her tightly. 

"It's...It's okay." Beca mumbled, "It's hard seeing all of this, right?"   
"Yeah," Chloe replied stiffly. 

The redhead pulled away from the hug and claimed a garbage bag from a cupboard. The Dj simply watched with admiration as Chloe stared at the various empty cans before she gave a determined nod and swiped her arm across the countertop. The bottles and cans clattered loudly as they were discarded into the bag but it only lasted a second. Then there was peaceful quiet, in which Chloe looked into the blackness of the bag and then to Beca with a prided smile. Her eyes glistened, in that oh so perfectly way they did and Beca couldn't help but smile back. 

"It feels good..." Chloe admits in an exhaled breath, her grip tight around the garbage bag.   
Beca nodded understandingly, "I guessed it would..." 

There was a brief silence. 

"What now?" Beca queried, looking to Chloe questioningly.   
"I'll go put this in the dumpster that's outside by the entrance and then we can plan what we'll do today." The redhead replied with a dutiful nod. 

Beca shook her head at Chloe's premise, "I'll take it to the dumpster, don't worry." The Dj grinned quickly, took the garbage bag as the redhead offered it and hurried out of the door. The various cans and bottled clattered with each of Beca's steps and the sound itself seemed to curve around Chloe's field of hearing as Beca walked outside towards the dumpster. There was a moment when the noise was replaced by hinges creaking and a small grunt of effort followed by a thud; then quick footsteps that led back around the cabin towards the door where Beca reappeared, a slight flush to her cheeks. 

"Jeez, that lid is heavy." She groaned, dusting her hands together.   
Chloe chuckled, commenting "Well, I did offer to take it."   
Beca rolled her eyes good naturedly before she slumped of the couch and looked up to Chloe, questioning look burning into the redhead's eyes. 

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Beca questioned. The brunette saw the thoughtful look that Chloe adorned and so she took to biting her nails passively as the older woman slowly fashioned a plan of action. 

"Why don't we go back to the waterfall?" Chloe suggested, her tone somewhat chipper and reminiscent.   
Beca's eyebrows knitted together as she thought back to the previous day (turning a blind eye at its ending and instead skipping to the parts she enjoyed) and a rush of warmth flushed her body; the scowl dropped, instead a gentle, fond smile decorated her features.   
The Dj exhaled, lip caught between teeth to hide the growing grin, "Yeah..." 

Beca's mind had turned aloof all of a sudden, to some special place between thankfulness and downright despair. Thankful for getting a second chance of telling Chloe how she felt as she reckoned that waterfall was the only place beautiful enough to do such a thing, but despair as it seemed almost inappropriate, considering the difficult evening/morning the two had just endured. Though, in another light, Beca figured having feelings out in the open meant she could simply care more and drop her hesitant edge she constantly held around the redhead for fear of going too far... 

"Beca? Hello?" Chloe called.   
The older woman waved her hand in front of Beca's blank expression, which elicited a jump from the Dj and then a defiant shake of the head.   
"What? Yes! No. I mean. Yeah, the waterfall sounds great!" Beca rambled, ending on a wide grin to which Chloe chuckled.   
"What?!" The brunette scoffed, her expression playful.   
"You're such a weirdo." Chloe commented.   
"I've been told." and Beca winked. 

X-X-X-X 

After a short while and a debate about bathing suits,   
("Beca, you can't wear swim shorts!"   
"Why not?"   
"Because I'm sure only guys wear them..."   
"Hey! I might have a dick, how would you know?"   
"I went into your shower, Beca."   
"...Oh, yeah." )   
The twosome found themselves back in the woods. They followed the few footprints left by them the day before and it took literal minutes (as opposed to an hour, as it did previously) for them to find their way. 

The canopied trees opened into the sun basked haven, as picturesque as they had left it. The waterfall crashed down noisily and disrupted the surface of the pool which rippled in large rings before dispersing as they hit the rocks. Both Beca and Chloe stood for a moment and stared out into their enclosed hideaway.   
"It's beautiful." The red head breathed out.   
Beca turned her head to Chloe, smiling fondly. "Yeah, it is." 

The older woman then lifted her shirt, revealing toned stomach and breasts clad in a red bikini. It took all of Beca's strength for her eyes to avoid wandering but even so the DJ managed a sneaky look at Chloe's abs before she turned away and removed her own shirt, which revealed her slim but disappointingly un-athletic build. 

When Beca turned back around, she met a intrigued stare and glistening iris's, that by far outranked the other impressive aesthetics the redhead possessed. They twinkled like the stars and captivated the brunette so dearly that Chloe's delicate figure wasn’t even on her mind in that moment. 

"What are you staring at?" Beca asked with a small grin.   
Chloe returned the expression, and then her finger delicately traced the tattoo that covered much of Beca's shoulder, sending shivers down the younger woman's back.   
"Your tattoos, I forgot about them," Chloe stated, admiring the art work before her hand slowly (and reluctantly) fell back to her side. Her smile went lopsided, as if she wished for the touch to stay but felt against it. 

Beca sensed the mild angst and so she grabbed Chloe's arm, much to the other woman's surprise and extended it. The Dj looked intently; the corner of her lips turned upwards upon finding the small ladybug that cutely sat on Chloe's forearm 

"I'd never forget about this" Beca teased lightly before she added, " maybe I should get a cricket and we could match." sarcasm and appropriate smirk only adding to the comedic effect of her words.   
Chloe giggled, "Maybe you should," and her expression seemed serious for a second. In reply, Beca looked at Chloe with an acknowledging smile "Fine then, I will."   
The redhead frowned disbelievingly, "What? Really?"   
"Yeah, why not? Always wanted a bug tattoo anyway..."   
Chloe's frown lightened as she chuckled again, a muttered breath of "weirdo" escaping into the air, which elicited a smirk from Beca and an agreeing nod of the head. 

Then, the older woman turned away and faced the water. Her body tensed for a second, relaxing as she drew a large breath. Head down, eyes shut, breathing steadied.   
Beca watched, largely bemused by Chloe's abrupt calmness, eyes narrowing as she caught eyelids flicker and a smirk expand on the redhead's lips. 

"Chlo, what are you-"   
"LAST ONE IN HAS A TONER FOR BUMPER!" Chloe's voice exploded in front of Beca's.   
The redhead's grin widened wildly as she eyed Beca's visible shock from the outburst. Her light footed steps then brought her to the water's edge, away from where the brunette had only just caught on and pursued. 

"Hell fucking no!" Came the yelped cry from Beca as she levelled with Chloe. The Dj's arm reached out and hooked around the older woman's front and pushed her back but her cunning trick was without success. Beca's awful footing and general clumsiness was at her disadvantage here, evident as when the younger Bella tripped, arms still wrapped around Chloe, and stumbled head first into the water pool. 

Laughter mixed with the gargling of water as the twosome splashed broke the peaceful serenity and the flutter of birds flying away, presumably disturbed from their shrieks was heard in the distance, though went unnoticed by the two women who were in the middle of wrestling (though, it could've been considered more intimate than that). 

When they broke apart, Chloe wiped the water from her eyes and ran her hands through the now ruined ginger locks which had flattened to the side of her head.   
"I was sort of aiming to not get my pants wet this time, that was the whole point of wearing my bikini underneath..." she muttered, but her eyes twinkled and she found it impossible to be angry at Beca, who simply smirked and gave a quick wink before she thoughtlessly retorted, "Doesn't matter what you're wearing, you'd be wet around me anyway." ,

The redhead's eyes widened at the comment, as did Beca's. The Dj's face flushed an impossibly deep shade of red and her hands flew up to disguise it. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry I wasn't thinking!" She cried.   
Beca's mortified expression was then distorted by water as the brunette broke into a front crawl stroke and swam away hastily. 

She took refuge behind the waterfall where she cursed blindly to herself for her own idiocy for a moment. Even after she had finished, she remained, too embarrassed to even consider going back out. Her blush had now subsided, but her cheeks still felt like they were burning and her heart raced at the very remembrance of her words. 

With her back turned and being too wrapped up in containing her frustration, Chloe's sly entrance had gone unnoticed and she stood behind Beca. Her finger then gently prodded the younger woman's back. 

Beca tensed and jumped. She turned around sharply and scowled but the expression she adorned fell to a calculating confusion as Chloe's sweet smile filled her vision.   
"I'm sorry Chlo'," Beca reiterated and Chloe merely shrugged passively,   
"It's fine, you're adorable when you're flustered." 

At that second, in accordance to Chloe's words, the blush returned. Beca's lips pursed as she felt it crawl up her face and despite the defiant shake of her head, there was no escaping it.   
"I'm not adorable." Beca muttered.   
"Of course you are, Becs!" Chloe replied chipper with a prod of Beca's flushed cheek.   
"No."   
"Aw c'mon, why aren't you adorable?"   
"Because I can't be adorable."   
"We're going in circles here..." Chloe sighed, and then she glanced at Beca closely. 

The younger woman had become reclusive. Hands nervously fiddled at her sides and eye line was directed towards the dappled light that reflected in the water of the alcove the twosome resided in; they blinked often and when they looked up (which wasn't often), it included a sense of childlike innocence or nervousness, seldom seen in the alt girl's expression.   
Defeated by that devilishly deflated look, Chloe eventually queried, "Okay, why can't you be adorable?" 

Beca's eyes then shut for a second. When they opened, they jolted towards Chloe, a storm raging behind the gaped expression Beca now adorned. The brunette was frozen to the spot, her hand twitching slightly as if she were to anchor herself by reaching for Chloe but was inexplicably unable to do. The confusion that creased in Chloe's brow was now almost intimidating and Beca had to remind herself to breathe under its mild scrutiny.   
It was fortunate, as the oxygen somewhat calmed Beca's screaming lungs and rapid heart but it was unfortunate, as didn't stop them enough to distract from the constant thump of her heart break that played like a drum in her ear. 

Both were silenced. Chloe with the questions she hoped Beca would answer and Beca with the answer she couldn't seem to congregate into a palatable sentence.   
Until suddenly, she did. 

Thoughts tied together in a seamless line as the two's eyes met during the silence and it all just...clicked. 

Voice choked and shaky but recognisable as Beca's own,   
"I can't be adorable, because you're the most adorable thing I've ever seen," Then an added whisper of " You're perfect." were the words that echoed into the empty cavern. What followed was Beca's light up curl of her lips as she took Chloe's hand and repeated herself. "You're perfect, Chloe Beale." 

It felt good. Unexplainably good. Beca imagined this is what Chloe felt when those cans fell away into the garbage bag and were disposed of. A sort of nervous energy that coursed her veins. She felt sick yet ecstatic and though she couldn't quite read Chloe's face right because of this, she was oddly okay with that. 

She couldn't help herself anymore. It had been said once, twice and now for a third time, Beca iterated, "You're perfect and I want to look after you."   
Chloe bit her lip.   
"I want to care for you," said the brunette.   
Tears formed in the redhead's eyes.   
"I want to love you." The final confession was revealed in a hushed whisper, Beca's hope hung on a single thread of dignity. 

"Oh, Beca." Chloe murmured, her voice gently caressing the Dj's name. She took the grip which the younger woman initiated and tightened it, their bodies now pressed closer as their hands intertwined.   
"Why did you never say anything?" She asked softly, her voice tickling Beca's face in an oddly seductive fashion. 

"I...I was scared." Beca mumbled pathetically.   
"Oh Beca." Chloe chuckled softly and she guided her hands away from Beca's and up to cup the younger woman's delicately curved face. "Don't be..." and then she whispered, "Because I want to love you too." before she pulled Beca in, their lips barely brushing in a soft kiss before they separated again. 

Beca stared, dumbfounded. She was happy, undeniably. Though, she couldn't shake the slight worry that resulted from the graze of their lips.   
"Are you sure?"   
Chloe nodded, her smile empathetic of the Dj's doubt.   
"But what about...past experiences?" The brunette asked quietly, afraid of the very words themselves. 

Chloe's smile that succeeded the question was knowing, wise and comforting to Beca's inner conflict. The words that rolled from the other woman's mouth however, were a much better argument that helped in the resolve. 

"You're not like him Beca, I want to feel your body against mine; the gentle hitch of your breath when I touch you in return." and with that, Chloe connected their lips once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's going up un-beta'd, apologies for any mistakes!

When they broke apart from the kiss and Chloe smiled in that perfect way she did, Beca realised what she had been missing out on for so long; now it was hers and nothing had ever tasted sweeter.   
Their hands interlinked and they stood for a while, taking in each other's touch whilst they fought the shivers that had become apparent, as the shaded alcove they stood in lacked warmth. So instead, they found warmth in an embrace and Beca wrapped her arms instinctively around Chloe with a chivalrous smile. 

The redhead murmured appreciatively as Beca's body radiated against hers and her eyes fluttered shut as she put her head to rest on the Dj's shoulder. 

"What now?" Chloe murmured softly.   
Beca gave a breathy chuckle, "I have no idea," she admitted, "I didn't actually think I'd get this far..."   
Chloe giggled and then reopened her eyes. Beca's somewhat embarrassed composure caused her expression to soften and she craned her neck to brush their lips together for the third time that day. She sighed contently as they separated with a smile that played on her features, "Well you did, fortunately.". 

Slowly, the corners of the brunette's eyes creased as a confident grin attempted to slyly adorn the younger woman's face. Somehow it failed and Beca blushed profusely at the miserable attempt, her adorable, (oddly uncharacteristic) teeth bared beam quickly reverting to a nervous smile. Chloe chuckled at the quick reversion of expressions and then caressed Beca's face with a single hand to make their gazes meet.   
"and for the record, I'm very glad you did." She whispered with a light nuzzle into the crook of the Dj's neck. 

Beca smirked, relaxing slightly. Then she shivered and had to pull Chloe tighter.   
"Jesus, it's cold!" She hissed before her head turned towards the sun basked water that lay outside the small alcove. Her eyes wavered longingly for a moment before all attention was turned to a small jab in her side. She flinched, her body involuntarily jerking.   
"Hey!" is all she managed to yelp before Chloe's laughter stricken voice rung loudly over hers,   
"LAST ONE OUT THE ALCOVE HAS A TONER FOR BUMPER AND WANTS HIS SWEET ACA-CHILDREN" 

Beca scoffed disbelievingly and then splashed around in pursuit of the redhead, of whom couldn't contain her laughter as she fleeted away. 

X-X-X-X 

Hours had passed since it happened. Beca had had a hard time trying to convince herself the kissing and admittance had actually taken place; the way her eyes subtly lowered with a certain self-doubt a determined show of it. Everything in that moment had been a blur to the Dj and she found that her tongue tripped over the words she couldn't quite remember and that the ghost of Chloe's lips felt almost like an illusion. 

As if it was on cue, Chloe jumped to reassuring Beca. Her gentle smile and sincere eyes of sky blue were insurance enough of the moment that the brunette had seemingly lost.

 

Their hands found themselves linked ; it felt natural, the way Chloe's fingers slipped up Beca's palm and then lightly separated Beca's own to interconnect with them in a slick, graceful movement.   
They had returned to the cabin, where they sat opposite each other on a couch and listened to each other's ridiculous confessions of crushes with incredulous yet dawning smiles as each story tumbled from the others mouth, often lost somewhere in laughter. 

Chloe wiped a comical tear from the base of her eye and released a shaky breath induced from the come down that followed another bout of giggles. She eyed Beca who had begun to speak again; listening intently, her mouth formed into an 'O' shape as a testimony to her curiosity. 

"So basically, that's how Jesse caught me staring at you from across the Quad and then promptly pelted me with a nerf gun that Benji so coincidentally had on his person..." 

Chloe's laughter echoed in the otherwise empty living room again, filling Beca's ears with its melodious ring. The Dj then impatiently silenced Chloe with a finger to her lips and then continued, 

"Wanna know the best thing about it though?" Beca eyes twinkled with mystery.   
Chloe nodded.   
Beca's voice was then lowered as her hushed tones slowly unravelled the climax of the story, "Benji told me he had brought the nerf gun out to in fact stop Jesse from interfering with 'us'."   
Chloe's eyes widened, her brows raised disbelievingly "oh my god, really?!" 

The brunette nodded into her smirk, "Yeah, he said he was rooting for me,"   
Beca smiled and looked a little reminiscent as she thought back to that day. Chloe on the other hand just 'aww'-ed and cuddled up to Beca, commenting "Benji is so sweet...sometimes I wish I could be better friends with him, y'know?"   
Beca nodded understandingly, "Yeah, the trebles are completely dicks to him."   
"It's just Bumper to be honest, he's such a dicklick..." Chloe added.   
"Did you just quote Aubrey?" Beca said with a smirk   
Chloe's face was a picture of feigned innocence; eyes large and childlike whilst her mouth upturned sweetly, "What? Me? No!" 

Beca rolled her eyes good naturedly, "That's definitely a lie" She started, her voice containing an authoritive streak which the redhead found amusing (and also a tiny bit sexy), "and because you lied to me, you're gonna to have to pay."   
"Oh? And how will I do that, hm?" Chloe challenged. 

Beca then met the lustful glare the older woman threw, her nerve turned titanium, unbreakable. The brunette's bottom lip caught teasingly between her teeth and when the pressure released, flushed a deep rouge that taunted Chloe so as the redhead now eyed the soft grooves of Beca's lips . The DJ gave a dark smile. 

The cerulean iris' that once bored back were darkening as Beca continued to stare down at the older woman. The brunette leaned in slowly, her warm breath hitting Chloe's neck in such as fashion that hairs on the back of her neck rose with her bubbling arousal. 

Beca's lip then ghosted Chloe's skin, and she whispered, "Well, firstly like this" before her teeth sank into Chloe's neck and she sucked at it hard. The redhead gasped, her hands instinctively running into Beca's hair and gripping tight as the younger woman clamped down harder still, relishing secretly as she felt the skin burn and bruise under her touch.   
Chloe's breaths inhaled sharply and she hissed out an obscenity which turned to a desperate whimper of Beca's name, embodied with painful pleasure. 

Then, Beca stopped. She moved away and admired the deep purple hickey that sat on Chloe's pulse point. She kissed it lightly before she lead a trail of kisses down Chloe's neck, up her jawline and then to her lips, where their mouths collided desperately. Their lips locked together, fitting together like a puzzle where the correct pieces had finally fallen into place, and then was a storm growing in the pit of Beca's stomach, merciless and climatic; it urged her to continue so she ran her tongue along Chloe's bottom lip, requesting access. With a pleasurable moan Chloe allowed this; their tongues due battle feverishly, mouths never breaking apart. 

Though she had been hesitant to kiss Chloe the first time, Beca had grown confident quickly. Her hands that once hovered aimlessly as they made out now planted firmly on the redhead's delicate hips, edging Chloe across the couch where they could continue their curious wondering. They ran up and down the older woman's sides, which only got Chloe further riled up. 

The brunette's hands, now underneath Chloe's shirt, reached around Chloe's back and fumbled blindly for her bra clasp. For a second, Chloe leaned into the gesture but upon realising Beca's intentions, she froze. 

"Becs," She murmured, a unsettled feeling in her words.   
Her voice wasn't loud enough; Beca continued to fiddle with the clasp. Chloe writhed a little, trying to shake the brunette's hands away. Initially, Beca looked confused and even scowled a little but then she saw the fear and the innocence that had crept onto Chloe's face and that led in her eyes which were wide with apprehension. 

"Beca..." Chloe repeated her voice less than a whimper as she retracted away from Beca's touch.   
"I..I can't..." The redhead confessed; her eyes hovered on Beca's face awaiting a reaction but the younger woman just stared blankly, so she glanced down. 

After what felt like a millennium, Beca's hand graced Chloe's shoulder, alerting the redhead to look up. The Dj gave a sympathetic smile, "hey," she cooed softly, "don't worry."   
Chloe sighed, " I do trust you Beca, I really do. It's just..." she paused as she swallowed the lump in her throat , "...bad memories" 

Beca cocked her head to the side sympathetically. The brunette then took Chloe's hand in her own and after struggling with words for a few moments (which she cursed to herself about, she seriously needed to work on that) she simply said, "It's okay...We'll be okay" 

The corners of Chloe's lips quivered into a smile as the words seeped in. Beca understood; she wasn't mad, or disappointment or upset unlike many others that had been. The alcohol that controlled Chloe's life previously made her lose her inhibitions but without it she was the scared and never made it far with anyone, which often resulted in shame as said people called her out on her sexual prowess (or apparent lack thereof). 

Consequently, it was a relief when Beca's eyes softened and her voice was a meek whisper of reassurance that it was okay. 

For the first time, Chloe believed the words to be true as they weren't accompanied with a sigh or an obvious glance that followed towards the door and the inevitable situation of being left alone at the end of the day... 

Caught in her thoughts, it took a few seconds for Chloe to respond.   
"Okay..." she whispered as an echo to Beca's words, tasting the sweet consolation they held.   
Beca smirked gently, "Yeah, okay."

 

Leaning back into the couch, Beca then held her arms out a little and Chloe wordlessly fell into them. The redhead snuggled up close into the tiny woman, Beca's scent sending her in a relaxed lull.   
Then, with eyes shut, she smiled and breathed out a, "Thank you" 

Beca smoothed Chloe's hair, her fingers running a soothing pattern through the ginger locks. As she watched Chloe's serenity with adoration, Beca couldn't help but smile back. She pressed her lips gently to Chloe's forehead, and chuckled when the redhead murmured happily in her almost sleep like state.   
"I love you, Chlo'" Beca whispered before she shut her eyes. 

She settled into the couch, shut her eyes and let sleep overcome in gentle waves. With Chloe in her arms and atmosphere heavy with an intimacy she had longed to feel for so long, Beca had never cherished a situation so much before. It had truly been the greatest day of her life (excuse the cliché)   
And tomorrow was going to be even greater.


	11. Chapter 11

As seemed to a recurring theme, Beca awoke first in the morning. On first notice, she was confused and disoriented. The place she lay felt cramped and warm but on top of all that, there was an abrupt homeliness that became clear, despite that her wits (which returned moments later) had reminded her that she was in fact, very far from home...or Barden for that matter.

What the brunette neglected to remember was the redhead that was cuddled into her, breathing softly in her sleep. Of course she could feel her there, but it took a few seconds to dwell upon exactly why Chloe was asleep in her arms.

Though, when Beca had finally lifted herself from the musky sleep induced haze she hated so and opened her eyes, she met arguably, the most precious sight her steely blue eyes had ever seen.

Chloe lay in a peaceful slumber, a smile tenderly embedding her features that radiated a gentle tranquillity. It took the breath from Beca's lungs for she considered that making even the slightest of noises might awake her; she had come to the realisation that years of nightmares had probably made Chloe a light sleeper.

Then Beca thought back to the nightmare that happened those 2 nights ago. She understood that it couldn't possibly have been a one-off thing...So, how long had they been happening for? It was something she'd probably discover with time but as Chloe slept with her, the dreams failed to prevail their reign of terror and so, maybe she wouldn't ever find out after all...

Now content with the current situation, the brunette found no need to move, so she watched In awe filled silence the gentle rise and fall of Chloe's chest which accompanied her unconscious breathing, and the smile the redhead wore that only got fonder when she nuzzled in to Beca which was followed by an agreeable murmur of comfort. The DJ chuckled to herself, having to stifle further laughter as Chloe's red locks tickled her neck and face.

Beca breathed out, her warm, lingering breath causing the older woman to stir and sloppily bat her hand at the phantom heat. Beca smirked and then repeated the actions a few times; every cycle of breath caused Chloe's movements to become more violent until a final time when Beca inhaled but was then prevented by a harsh slap to her face.

The DJ's jaw hung agape. She glanced to Chloe, who's lips were pursed as if trying to conceal a grin. Her eyes tightened shut; her lips trembled, attempting to further stop the grin that slowly adorned her features with an accompanying amused exhale through her nose - As if to suppress an inevitable giggle.

"You're totally awake Chloe, I know it." Beca assumed, tapping her finger on the redhead's nose.  
"I'm not awake...this is all a dream. " Chloe responded deadpan with a scrunch of her face to dismiss the digit. It seemed Chloe was a terrible liar around the younger woman, which only added to the humour as her voice wavered when she held the monotone.

After rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Beca then smirked, watching as the older woman tried in vain to dissipate the emotion from her features (Which is impossible since whether she's conscious or not, there's always something adorning Chloe's face - often an absent smile).

"Of course." Beca retorted, voice containing a malicious streak, peaking Chloe's curiosity enough that she opened her eyes. She met Beca's own, glaring mischievously.  
"Beca, what are you-" Chloe's searching words were cut off by her own squeals and shrieks as Beca nudged Chloe off the couch and proceeded to tickle her once she thumped to the floor. Her limbs, heaped together and still not quite awake, jerked as the sensation erupted through her body and she simply writhed helplessly as Beca's loud, victorious laughter filled the room.

"Okay okay okay, I'm awake!" She cried breathlessly with a defeated, yet playful grin. Her laughter slowly died down into heavy breathing and she splayed out her limbs, lying on the floor whilst she looked to Beca. In that moment, she saw the lights that twinkled in the brunette's eyes - that little spark that Beca seemed to hold only for her, stimulated by a simple tickle fight...It was infatuation at it's finest.

There was a silence that fell, where they simply stared at one another, enamoured. To wake up that way had been something of a dream; to be in their arms, start the day lightly and humorously, the way those shitty rom-coms that Jesse liked went. Except there wasn't no boy meets girl but instead girl meets girl, but hey, no story is perfect.

"So..." Beca murmured awkwardly after a moment, obviously uncomfortable at the sudden speechlessness or possibly the tension that had arisen in the looks exchanged.  
"So..." Chloe echoed, her grin wide. The redhead had never liked to give awkwardness the time of day and so she sat up before she moved to kneel in front of Beca, a kiss promptly breaking any heaviness the air once held.

The Dj couldn't help but smile against Chloe's skin, their touch somehow always left her breathless for she'd forget everything in that moment except the pure ecstasy that were the redhead's lips.

"Mmm g'morning," Chloe giggled as she planted another chaste kiss on the brunette's mouth before standing. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and then reached out her hand, took Beca's and pulled the younger woman up also.  
"Mornin'" Beca replied, her words infused with a yawn that drew out their syllables until her voice became muffled as she dropped her face into the crook of Chloe's shoulder.

The redhead instinctively wrapped her arms around Beca's waist, feeling harmonious as they stood hugging in the middle of the living room. Chloe shut her eyes for a second and took a snap shot of the moment and hoped she would remember it as the first of many. Beca however, smiled knowingly into the older woman's touch; she knew she had found something special with Chloe and it wasn't often that she found such a connection. She cherished this, though she'd never tell (anyone, apart from maybe Chloe herself), for she had a reputation to uphold.

"What do you wanna do today, babe?" Chloe asked softly, her voice wavering on use of the pet name, unsure if It's use was warranted. Though, Beca seemed to perk up at its mention, her head lifting to reveal a goofy grin that sat a little lopsided, much like how the DJ would normally wear a smirk.

"I...I don't know," Beca mumbled with pursed lips, "uh, babe." she added quickly after mild hesitance.  
Chloe giggled at the younger woman's apprehensive nature, adoring Beca's inexperience. It seemed to her that this new-found relationship dynamic would be good for them both; Beca would learn to be open and she'd personally learn to let go of her past (...well, hopefully. The young brunette had already helped somewhat so the only way to go was up).

"You're so cute when you have no idea what you're saying," The redhead teased passively, challenging the scowl that Beca threw after hearing the comment.  
"I'm not cute, I'm badass." The DJ retorted with her teeth bared In a jesting growl.  
Chloe chuckled, "Well, would this 'bad ass' like to spend the day cuddled on the sofa watching movies?"  
Beca looked blankly for a moment, thinking to the pro's and cons of the situation, the negatives far out weighing the positives, ( Cons - having to watch the actual movie with its predictable as shit ending...Pros - Cuddling with Chloe, laughing with Chloe, protecting Chloe if watching horror movies...General being with Chloe-ness ). Then, after a thought processing side glance and scowl, she nodded.  
"Sounds great," The DJ finally answered, struggling to hide the sarcasm so often adorned to such replies.

"Awesome!" Chloe chimed with a gleeful grin. She pottered over to the small coffee table that lay besides the fireplace, of which the TV was mounted to the wall on top of. Idly, her hand hovered over a few DVDs, each finger dancing a different pattern on the plastic casing. Beca simply dropped into the couch and watched, bemused as Chloe put such great thought into the choice.

Wordlessly, Chloe pulled a DVD case from the pile, opened it and then placed the disc into the DVD player. Beca squinted, straining to see the case as Chloe returned it to the collection. Though unsuccessful, she didn't doubt Chloe's movie choosing abilities and simply hoped that it wasn't one of those 'classics' from the 80's that Jesse seemed to think were a holy grail.

Chloe then sauntered back to the couch, half cuddling, half falling into Beca who, surprised by the sudden weight, wheezed and then laughed with pained expression.  
"Jesus Chlo', I'm not a mattress!"  
"I dunno Beca, you could've fooled me!"  
The brunette shoved the older woman playfully which left her with no choice but to be shunted off Beca's body and to lay beside her instead. Despite what anyone would think, Beca had predominantly played the big spoon and it was a role she somewhat prided herself on, considering her short height often played to her disadvantage - She wasn't even taller than Chloe, it was simply that the redhead seemingly preferred to be the little spoon and the young DJ wasn't one to argue.

After shuffling for a few minutes, Chloe reached to the side and grabbed the remote, passing it over a still confused Beca to point it at the TV and switch it over to the DVD player.  
"You still haven't told me what we're watching..." Beca stated with a small huff, lighting kicking the back of Chloe's calves.

Chloe side glanced Beca and then bit her lip, as if withholding the punch line of some hilarious joke.  
She remained silent for a moment to watch the impatience spread through the younger woman's features until her brow was completely creased; quickly turning to a look of annoyance.  
"Okay okay," Chloe piped quickly.  
"It's a good film, I promise," she added another silence, secretly enjoying the disdain Beca held for the tension and the general ritual of movie watching.  
"We're watching Lilo and Stitch." Is the slight giggled admittance the redhead unveils and Beca's eyes widened dramatically before they tightened to a glare, which is paired to a slight sigh.

"A Disney movie? Seriously?"  
Chloe chuckled and without a reply, she cuddled up closer into the DJ. She smiled to herself as she felt the body of the younger women go slightly stiff with apprehension which is followed by a pause. The redhead then felt the air exhale from Beca's chest and body language that read surrender in a surprisingly fast turn around from the brunette.

In fact, Beca realised that where she was lead now, with her entire being encompassed around Chloe's frame and their bodies mingling in warmth and affection, that maybe watching a simple movie wouldn't be painstakingly difficult. It wasn't even just the physical feeling that the Dj found solace in: The feelings shared between her and Chloe made anything more enticing, as if she was experiencing something anew. Maybe her hesitation was fuelled by recent memories of awkward 'moviecations' by Jesse. But no, it wasn't a moviecation.

"Actually, you know what? This movie is fine...it's - uh, it's perfect."

It was her and Chloe, watching a movie together whilst cuddled up.  
Itwasn't about learning about the movies or their sub-culture (of which Beca didn't care for anyway). It was about how their bodies fitted together...maybe not even their bodies, maybe just how they fitted.  
Which - was becoming ever more apparent - was actually rather perfectly.

Chloe smiled, "I know." She whispered teasingly in reply.

X-X-X-X

The credits faded; the DVD menu showed again.  
Chloe nudged her elbow into Beca's side gently and with great enthusiasm, she asked, "So, what did you think Becs?"  
Though half asleep by the end (A fault caused by the few hours she had slept over the past few days, not by her disinterest), Beca managed a grin. She leant up on her elbows to peer over Chloe and with one of her classic eye rolls she retorted, "Well, I've already seen this movie before Chloe - Everybody has...but it was good, maybe even a little better than good. But only a little."

The older woman looked up to Beca, her expecting expression turning pleased.  
"I knew you loved Disney movies!" She cried triumphantly; her arms engulfed the smaller brunette of whom grimaced playfully at the woman's excitement.  
"Yeah yeah yeah, but don't tell anyone, I've got a reputation to uphold."  
The redhead them mimed zipping her mouth shut and giggled further as she cuddled up to Beca and peppered a few kisses to the woman's face. "Who would've thought? My girlfriend - the one and only Beca Mitchell - likes Disney movies?"

There was laughter exchanged for a moment; the situation turned ever more into a cliché. It was possibly a conscious decision as if the twosome had played up to each other's obvious dynamic and the situation that surrounded them. It was almost comedic.

"Wait," The Dj suddenly turned serious, eliciting an air of shock but also an odd giddiness that Chloe couldn't quite put her finger on. Laughter cut short, the redhead was clueless as to the sudden change of demeanour and chuckled to ease the tension, but only aided in making the change seem more dramatic.

"You just called me your girlfriend..." Beca stated quietly. It sounded more of a question than a statement; the younger woman's incredulous expression giving clue to Beca's behaviour and Chloe - having realised what ignited her girlfriend's sudden strangeness - simply gave an assuring smile and pressed a kiss to Beca's cheek.  
"Of course I did." Chloe replied plainly, as if the phrase was naturally associated the brunette and was far from out of the ordinary.

Only then did it dawn on Beca that they were quite possibly in a relationship, without either of them even out rightly asking. Realising that not all relationships are not direct 'ask-date-relationship' kind of affairs and the fact that Chloe seemed more than happy about that made Beca ease a little. She lost that feeling of inevitability that perhaps after this vacation finished (which was in just over 2 days, considering it was already mid day), her and Chloe would return to their weird ways of being friends but just-not-quite-girlfriends. No, they were in it for the long run, apparently.

Despite this, Beca queried, "So... we're like, a thing now?" to make sure her long winded thought train was correct and not as thin of substance as the air that surrounded them (Or some other complicated simile that she didn't have the brain power to come up with).  
Chloe chuckled at her insecurity for it was adorable and then she nodded, "Yes Beca, we're a thing, if that's how you want to say it."

"I meant girlfriends... We're girlfriends, right?" The younger woman rambled with a blush that ran its way up her cheeks, flushing her face a light pink colour as she tripped on her words.  
"Yes girlfriends, Beca." Chloe said slowly, savouring every syllable.  
The brunette let out a sharp exhale which she grinned into. She sat there, a look of pure absolution decorating her features. And that's all that she did for a moment.

Then finally, she looked to Chloe, who was smiling at her a little questioningly.  
Now, Beca Mitchell didn't get awe-struck so easily; she was difficult to completely befuddle. In her life, there had only been a handful of moments when she'd literally been unable to speak due to the amount of emotion that coursed around her tiny body. One of those times was her parents divorce, another being the events of yesterday. But what just happened? Well, that was the ultimation. The best thing to happen that could have possibly happened.

With that little grinned stuck to her face, she let out a nervous titter.  
"Awesome." Was literally the only word she managed to gasp out, lost in everything that was Chloe. Her eyes, her smile, the sunlight that glared through the windows and shone vibrantly on her hair that splayed on the couch... Maybe her response was a little anti-climatic, but her delivery had been nothing short of pure, awed and whispered delight.

She finally breathed out, her tightened chest alleviated of pressure.  
"That's...that's totally awesome" She re-iterated.

Chloe simply chuckled. She snaked her hands around the back of Beca's neck and pulled the girl in for a kiss.  
"It is, isn't it?" She whispered against the DJ's skin, smiling minutely when she felt the hitch in breath that followed. The redhead lingered close for a moment which gave Beca the chance to sneak another light kiss before she moved away and lead back down fully on the couch and fell back into the spooned position they naturally found.

After a short while of peaceful, blissful silence, in which neither girls did nothing but lay and feel the innocent touch of the other's body, Beca spoke up.  
"Babe," she mumbled, the word still feeling odd (like it left a sickly sweet feel in her mouth. Though, this 'taste' seemed to be merely episodic), "you need to change the DVD..."

"Is that you agreeing to a movie marathon?" Chloe asked sly, grinning.  
"Uh...maybe."  
The redhead squealed and jumped from the couch. Scuttling, she made her way over to the small table again of which the DVD's still lazily adorned.  
"You're in for it now, Mitchell," She warned playfully, holding up a case then another before she shook her head and replaced the first with an entirely different one, mind obviously fleeting over the different options.

"Rom-com or tragedy?" Chloe asked with a glance over her shoulder.  
Beca smirked, "How about neither?"  
"Okay, musicals it is."  
The DJ groaned, watching with disdain as Chloe picked up a DVD, took out the previous disc from the player, replaced it with this new one and then with a shit-eating grin, returned to her cuddling position.

"We're watching a horror next." Is all Beca stated before she glanced to the screen, though her annoyance was feigned and appeared playful as the brunette smiled when she was sure Chloe wasn't looking (But she was, she definitely was).

Chloe simply giggled and shuffled into Beca, her back and butt firmly pressed into the brunette, to which there was no disagreement about. The redhead felt safe in this intimacy, a continuing victory that showed how comfortable she was and Beca was well...all too happy to oblige.  
The DJ threw her arm lazily around Chloe's waist, pulling her in (if that was even possible) and chuckled lightly when the off-guard redhead's breath hitched, clear that she had been focusing on the movie that was unfolding on the screen in front of them.

"So, this is gonna be our entire day, huh?" The younger woman queried softly after a brief silence.  
Chloe nodded, turning her head to flash a grin at Beca.  
"Perfect." The brunette said; for once her words sincere.

She didn't need the sarcasm that usually weaselled in her words, for she was being truthful and though she would probably never truly appreciate the 'beauty' of movies, at least with Chloe there she could appreciate the view.

With her fire of reluctance now mere ashes, she stopped watching Chloe adoringly and looked to the screen. The theatrical dancing and bright costumes caught her attention far more than she wanted it to; she found herself actually smiling at the characters.  
Maybe movies weren't so bad after all.


	12. Chapter 12

Though probably surprising, Beca and Chloe had actually ended up watching movies the entire day. After the fourth movie finished, the brunette stopped complaining about the clichés and the endings in place of light mocking that coaxed giggles from Chloe to the point she began to encourage them.

It was undeniably true that Beca hadn't sat through many of those movies because she enjoyed them, but more that she enjoyed the company and the entertainment factor of pointing the flaws in the film's plot (For example, Why didn't Gandalf just take Frodo on his 'big ass eagle friends'). Chloe learned to humour the Dj's sarcastic, witty remarks, finding that in many situations she even agreed with the Beca's logic, though she'd never admit it simply because it annoyed the younger woman, which she found adorable.

Eventually, even the remarks stopped; Beca watched peacefully, her eyes glaring intensely at the screen. They flickered with thought occasionally, as If the brunette was interpreting and figuring the film's inner workings. Chloe couldn't see of course, as she lead in front of Beca. She did however, feel the subtle whispers Beca gave about the scoring and composition of the music that played in the background that were incredibly clever and yet unnerving.

The redhead then continued to pause the film and turn to Beca, intent of asking why and what the DJ was murmuring about. Beca interpreted it as annoyance -though Chloe's intentions were merely curious - and consequently she looked a little simple for a moment.  
"My family used to watch movies together...Me, my mom and dad" The brunette explained. Chloe went for clarification but it seemed Beca already knew the ambiguity of her statement, so before the older woman got a word in edgeways, she added "I used to download the soundtracks and make mix tapes," Beca smiled fondly at the memory, "I was just thinking about them"

Chloe nodded, knowing that prying deeper would probably not be an option. Beca was pretty uptight when it came to her parents, though had shared a few conversations some months back. Instead of urging her to a place she most likely didn't want to go to, Chloe instead lightly kissed the brunette's cheek and smiled.  
Beca however, decided that one more outburst was vital in order to fully explain herself (For she had vowed to herself that she would be totally open with Chloe, no matter how used she was to hiding).

"I don't hate movies," she began, "I hate what I associate with them. I associate family - family I don't have anymore...That's kind of why I was being an ass with all those comments, it makes the situation feel less domestic . But I realised something..."

Chloe raised a brow, confused but she smiled anyway.  
"Yes?" she inquired.

Beca sighed, "I realised that you're like...my family, Y'know? You're my girlfriend and I need to start reassigning those good memories to you. Maybe that explains my mumbling, maybe not, but whatever."

The older woman's expression softened; she let out a small whimper of awe.  
"That's...amazing, Becs." Chloe said, wriggling her arms free from where they lay to wrap them around the back of the Dj's neck and pull her into a deep kiss; she lingered just long enough to hear Beca whisper back a meek "thank you" before a minute smile splayed her lips.

Chloe then yawned, the warmth of their embrace a sudden trigger of tiredness (Or a reminder of her tiredness, since her eyes had drooped a couple times previously). As her face contorted, Beca chuckled, playfully asking "tired?", to which Chloe nodded sleepily.  
Then, as much is the way with their contagious nature, Beca yawned also.  
"Okay, maybe I'm kind of sleepy too," the brunette admitted and then she scrunched her face, "no offence, but I'd rather not sleep on the couch again..."

Chloe nodded, "Me neither."  
"So...bed?" Beca asked with another yawn immediately following.  
Chloe nodded; she rolled off the couch to stand and offered her hand out to a sleepy eyed Beca, who took it gratuitously and stood. They walked hand in hand to the bedroom, taking careful steps in the darkness as neither of them had bothered to turn on the lights and when they reached the door, Beca opened it first and allowed the redhead to enter. She watched the older woman pull back the sheets and clamber in, get comfortable and then with a smile, beckon Beca over.

Beca smirked at this but stayed put for a moment as she thought. Despite her previous aversion of the domesticity, the recent conversation spurred by their day gone by had almost fully amended her attitude. Not to her parents (of which she deemed would be impossible to fix) but to her ideas of being domestic, which admittedly, seemed appealing with Chloe in mind.

She looked to the redhead - snuggled and smiling dreamily - and she just knew she couldn't hate the feeling any further. It was odd to feel something she had held so high in her defences to slip away with such ease but she supposed that being in love with Chloe Beale would do these things to this realisation, she smiled knowingly and then joined the older woman, eager to feel closer again.

It wasn't soon after that they fell asleep.

X-X-X-X

The pattern still held strong; Beca was awake first.  
Her eyes fluttered open upon a harsh beam of sunlight breaking through the curtains, interrupting her sleep and even more annoyingly, half blinding her (though, that might been an exaggeration).  
She groaned as her hands swatted in vain to shield herself from the light; she gave up, shifting position. Though, sleep did not come as she would've hoped and with this, she groaned and rolled over once more.

"For gods sake" She muttered, hoisting the bed sheets from her body and clumsily coming to a stand. The Dj glanced at Chloe for a second. The redhead's hair was tucked neatly behind her ears and she slept with her relaxed smile. She looked so serene; it made Beca feel warm.

With a flash of a smile, Beca turned her attention. She looked down to her pyjamas, 2 days worn and then felt her hair, limp and greasy. She walked to the mirror on the other side of the room with cautious eyes, grimacing as she spied her reflection.

Without another thought, she left and went straight to the bathroom. She groaned and stripped her clothes as she turned on the shower, putting her hand under the stream to check the temperature periodically.  
When it was warm enough, she got in and stood under the water for a short while whilst she stretched out her limbs, a somewhat erotic sounding moan escaping her lips as she felt the tension dissipate from her stiff joints. One hand snaked around her neck and massaged it whilst the other reached for the shampoo. She washed her hair and then her body in quick succession, not wanting to waste any more time or water than she already had.

She turned the water off and stared around at the empty cubicle. She chuckled lightly to herself for the shower gave off an frighteningly reminiscent atmosphere, much like the ones back at college where she and Chloe had their first 'proper introduction (if you could call singing naked together a proper introduction, that is.)  
With the smirk plastered on her features she stepped out, grabbed her towel and promptly wrapped it around herself, shivering at the frigid air.

Following that, she quickly brushed her teeth and before leaving, pulled a flirtatious face in the mirror, adding a growl and chuckling before she finally left.

Beca walked down the small hallway, humming titanium and gently bobbing her head to the imagined beat that played in the background. She opened the door to the bedroom, expecting Chloe to still be fast sleep. What she didn't expect, however, was the redhead to be lead openly on the bed, with a gaze that spoke sensuality so loudly it made Beca gulp as a quiver of arousal twitched in her abdomen.  
Chloe giggled, watching with utter bemusement as the brunette became visible flustered.

"I'm ready." The older woman said with a teased bite of her lip. She beckoned with a finger for Beca to come closer and the brunette obliged, though faltered when she loosened the grip on her towel.  
'Shit, I'm still soaking wet'  
"I-Uh...you're ready for what?" Beca asked innocently, taking a small step away only to be pulled closer by Chloe's sudden grip on her towel, nearly ripping it away from the Dj's very clutches.

Chloe eyed Beca darkly and Beca stared back, though with what could only be described as mild confusion or uncertainty. The sudden change was arousing but overall appeared mistimed.  
The redhead seemed to read none of these signals however. She grabbed Beca's hips, running her hands down the length of her body until the Dj simply couldn't hold onto her towel anymore and it dropped to the ground.  
"Seriously, Chloe?" Beca sighed incredulously whilst she crossed her arms (which did little to protect the little dignity she had left).

"I think you know what I mean," Chloe mewled, "Plus, you have no right to be humming my lady jam as I awake. Do you know what that does to a woman?" She questioned with a playful wink.  
Beca stood -stark naked and rather embarrassed at this point- with an agape jaw. What the hell what Chloe playing at?  
"You're acting weird." Beca stated, though she hadn't attempted to back out of the situation nor had she reclaimed her towel, so maybe she was just being indecisive.

However, Chloe's gaze definitely flickered down for a second, nearly defeatedly. It was almost unnoticeable as she played it off with a good natured chuckle before glancing back up and pulling Beca into a searing kiss.  
"I just...want...to...touch you." Chloe murmured against the younger woman's soft lips; her kisses became hungered, more passionate, more desperate...but in a way that felt wrong.  
Beca moaned in approval at the first taste of the redhead's lips, mind averted away from her bareness as she moved to straddle the older woman.

Each movement was more passionate than the last. Chloe's hand feverishly wondered, indecisively jumping from Beca's hips to her ass to her thighs before they hovered over the bare skin, almost hesitant in gesture.  
Beca paused, feeling the sudden apprehension of the redhead's hands and protested lightly against Chloe's lips for her to stop, to no avail. The older woman had shut her eyes tightly; she looked almost pained in expression yet her actions spoke otherwise and at Beca's lack of movement, her hands regained motion, gripping to the side of the Dj's face and dragging their lips back together roughly.

Beca continued through the charade but was decidedly uncomfortable. She ran her tongue along Chloe's bottom lip, earning a weak whimpered squeak.  
Again, she stopped.  
"Chloe, what are you doing?"  
The redhead opened her eyes. They were large and luminous, a mixture of arousal and fear but there was an overpowered feeling of submission among the crystal iris', which made them appear notably vulnerable.  
"I'm ready, Beca." Chloe insisted, teeth gritted to stop the quiver of her lip.

"I don't believe you," Beca whispered gently. The DJ removed herself from on top of Chloe, leaned down then grabbed her towel, wrapping and securing it around her body.  
"This," She gestured to their bodies, "doesn't matter... Chlo, I couldn't care less about sex right now." Beca's hand lightly sat on Chloe's cheek, her thumb wiping away a stray tear, "What I care about is you."

Chloe gave a sad smile and a shrug, "I just wanted to please you..." she mumbled, "I'm a people pleaser, it's what I do."  
She drew her knees to her chest, allowing Beca room to sit in the space her legs once occupied. The Dj gave a understanding expression, appreciating the redhead's desire to fulfil the wishes of others but following that, she gave a firm, objective shake of her head.  
"You don't have to 'please' me" She assured with a soft smirk. The brunette placed her hand on Chloe's leg, a sympathetic gesture which earned newly hopeful smile.

Their eyes met and as always it caused Beca's breath to hitch; the way Chloe's once dulled iris' physically regained their charismatic glint was a sight she couldn't describe as less than extraordinary and the way they went from scared and wide to a softened gaze coaxed a feeling of relief beyond the realm of explanation. Beca could have stared into those cerulean iris' for an eternity, but unfortunately for her, she was still sat in a towel and getting rather cold.

"Okay?" Beca asked, breaking the silence that had settled.  
A smile splayed Chloe's features, "Okay." She echoed.

"Awesome!" Beca leant over and pecked Chloe's cheek before getting off the bed. She looked down at still-towel-clad self and tittered awkwardly with self consciousness.

"Y'know,You'd think with the whole shower thing, I'd be totally fine being naked around you." She jested good-naturedly as to poke fun at her own embarrassment. Chloe simply chuckled and nodded, "Well, I'm pretty confident about, " she gestured to her body, "all this," and then she winked. Her eyes scanned over Beca's body, "You should be pretty confident too," She added in a sly after thought, unable to withhold the predatory smile that soon followed the comment.

"Yeah well, maybe some day" Beca replied, her tone not entirely serious.  
She then shuffled awkward over to a chest of drawers and claimed some underwear from them. She turned to Chloe.  
"I'm just gonna...you know..." She gestured to the panties and bra she held and then to her body, a gentle blush working it's way up her face.  
Chloe giggled, "I suppose that's my queue to leave and take a shower, right?"  
"Basically." Beca replied.  
"Fine, fine" Chloe grumbled with feigned disappointment. She stood and took a few steps past Beca, waiting until the brunette turned away. Then she turned back, grabbed Beca, span her around and kissed her quickly, giggling and running away before the surprised younger woman could even react.

Beca smirked once she regained her wits and shook her head with a chuckle,  
"she'll be the death of me." She muttered to herself, a gentle fondness attached.  
The brunette then finally -after much digressing- managed to get dressed, dry her hair and look presentable for the first time in 2 days; it felt good.

The Dj then sat on the bed and scrolled through her phone, waiting upon Chloe's finishing with the shower.  
When the redhead did finally return, she got up instantly and went to leave the room respectively. Chloe smiled at Beca's well intended caution but assured she didn't mind, as they weren't exactly doing anything.  
Because of that, Beca happily complied and sat back down on the bed, though she kept her eyes glued to the screen of her phone.  
...Well, she did until Chloe dropped her towel; then she couldn't help but stare.

Gentle curves, toned stomach, and lightly protruded collar bones were a few of the features Beca's eyes were drawn too among other things. Chloe was...well, she was perfect.  
Beca let out a shaky, slightly aroused breath.  
"Damn," She whispered to herself but the smirk on Chloe's face as she turned to grab some clothes was more than enough evidence that she had heard also.

Though following that, she changed in near silence, only pausing to glance over when she heard Beca mutter something incoherent, or on one occasion, about her "damn distracting, near goddess like perfect body' (Which truth be told, she laughed at, considering the indirect nature of Beca's flattery).

Though hair still wet, she joined Beca on the bed and cuddled up. The brunette grimaced, having suddenly gained a mass of wet ginger hair which was thoroughly soaking her sweater.  
"Oh gee, thanks babe," She deadpanned, side eyeing the redhead, who beamed at her innocently.  
"You're welcome, babe." Chloe replied sweetly, only nuzzling in further.

With an good natured eyeroll, she decided to change the subject.  
"So, what are we doing today m'lady?"

Chloe looked up, giving that annoying innocent yet 'You-know-what's-coming-next' smile and then suggested, "how about we watch movies all day?", whilst withholding a giggle.

Beca's eyes widened dramatically. She looked to Chloe in feigned horor.  
"God No."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make sure I got this up as soon as possible, I skipped Beta-ing this. So, as is the way, I apologise for any mistakes. If you see anything major, send me an ask on Tumblr or comment on this story here and I'll sort it out!
> 
> Also, whilst I'm at it, I might as well tell you now.  
> Over the next few weeks (From this week until about the 14th of December), I'm going to be extremely busy. I have non-stop Romeo and Juliet rehearsals for a drama production over this week and then I'm performing 7 times over a 5 day period next week. The week following performances, I have mock exams. Because of this, my next chapter may or may not be later than usual.  
> I'm apologising in advance, but sometimes life gets in the way :(

"So, what exactly are you doing?" Beca asked as she followed Chloe out onto the porch, a conspicuous brow raised.  
"We, Beca. What exactly are we doing?" Chloe corrected as she neglected to slow for the woman who trailed behind, but this didn't matter as soon she came to a stop 5 metres or so from the cabin. They circled a few times; Chloe paused and stood for a second then looked to the floor with a deducting scowl.

Chloe flashed a grin at the cautious brunette before her head fell back to the floor and her eyes darted from place to place.

Beca rolled her eyes, "Right...well, what are we doing?" she reiterated with stress placed on the mention of 'me' in mock of Chloe's curt amendment. The brunette crossed her arms and with an absent air of mind, drummed a pattern with her fingers against her bicep, watching with unknowing enthrallment as Chloe marked out a square by kicking the heel of her shoe into the ground at the 4 corners, about a metre or so apart and one edge no closer than 2 inches to a small tree. What confused Beca further was when the redhead sized herself up against the tree, looked to Beca with a giggle and added an ambiguous "You're shorter than me, I don't need to measure you up."  
The Dj scowled, "...uh, okay?"

It was then - even after the obvious confusion Beca had shown- that Chloe realised the younger woman truly had no idea what she had planned for the day. The thought made her chuckle knowingly because she could see the agitation in Beca's demeanour: The anguished bite of her lip and deep burrowed brows that accentuated her steely gaze of which looked to be figuring the (not at all, despite Chloe's apparent deep thought previously) intricate planning.

When the brunette apparently came up short, evident by a small sigh and appropriate eye roll, Chloe teased, "You really have no idea, do you?"

Beca gave a glare that read of someone too stubborn to admit their defeat, instead showing her lack of knowledge in a gentle pout.

The redhead chuckled again and stepped away from the tree. Grin embedded in her features, she cupped Beca's face and kissed her on the nose, eliciting herself a breathy smirk as she broke away due to the intensifying of the brunette's childish expression.

"Don't patronise me." Beca warned playfully and with a sweet, nose scrunched smile, Chloe simply retorted, "Wouldn't dream of it, babe."  
Then, decidedly finished with her puzzling measurements and ambiguity, she relieved "We're making a den!" and squealed with excitement as she ran to the side of the cabin, leaving a rather unsurprised Beca to stare at the markings and wonder how they equated to anything like a den (because honestly, she saw 4 dents in the ground and not the 'blueprints' Chloe probably implied them to be).

Moments later and the older woman had returned with some wooden sticks (much like those you'd find as a broom handle), rope, tarpaulin and various other materials.  
She dumped them on the ground with a relieved huff.  
"There's a small storage box around the side there," she explained despite not being asked in the first place, "this stuff is used specifically for den making...well, it has been the few times we've been here before anyway."

Beca smirked, her foot lightly moving aside the different items. She could now see what Chloe meant, their age suddenly more noticeable - chips in the wood, rope frayed at the edges, even the tarpaulin wore thin in some patches. It was well used, which the Dj found all too endearing, considering the woman who visited the cabin were all over the age of 19.

"Isn't It, I don't know," The Dj turned to face Chloe with a good hearted grimace, "kind of childish?"  
The older woman feigned shock. She brought her hand to her mouth and gasped audibly, "Beca Mitchell!" She scolded, " Are you calling den making a childish past time?!"  
Beca raised her hands as she shrugged, "Maybe..."  
"I'll have you know that den making requires the upmost of skill and precision."  
"Of course." Beca smirked.

Chloe sighed, "Come on Beca, it'll be fun."  
The brunette gave a pained expression in response.  
"You're no fun!" Chloe whined.

The redhead didn't get exasperated often, but occasionally Beca's sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm was called into practise at a time when it wasn't exactly warranted... It's true, den building is childish; Chloe knew this but she figured Beca would at least go along with it - She had with everything else so far.

"It's just...I've never actually made a den before." Beca mumbled after a brief muteness; her expression sheepish.  
Chloe's expression softened, "why didn't you say so?"  
The brunette kicked at the floor and she sighed, "Because it's silly."  
"Silly?"  
"Yeah, what normal person hasn't ever made a den before?"  
"Aubrey probably hasn't."  
"My point exactly." Beca looked up from the floor, a half-hearted smirk splayed on her features, more out of habit than anything.

"Well then, this can be your first time making one! C'mon, I'll show you." Chloe grabbed Beca's hand and brought her closer to the tree. The Dj protested meekly but Chloe's grip was all too excited for her to deny herself a smile.  
The redhead reclaimed a few of the sticks and tried to drive the end of one into the ground, grunting with effort, for the ground was parched and dry in the summer warmth. She repositioned her hands and tried again but left a mere dent in the dirt.

"Need some help there?" Beca chuckled.  
"So now you want to help me, huh?"  
"More than I did 30 seconds ago."  
"You're so difficult."  
"Always."

The brunette, with a triumphant smirk, then wrapped her hands around Chloe's own grip and raised the stick above the ground. She grumbled a countdown from three and together (with another equally unattractive sounding grunt) forced the wooden pole straight into the dry earth. Finally, the first of four bases for the den was now set.

Their hands flexed against each other's uncomfortably, the friction having caused Chloe's hands to graze against the wooden material. As a result, Chloe then yelped and pulled her hands away sharply, a whimper quick to follow as she cradled one hand in the other.

"What? What did you do?" Beca's concern was hastily expressed with the change of her girlfriend's expression from a simple wince to a tear-withholding pout. Chloe shook her head.  
"Oh c'mon, it couldn't have hurt that badly."  
Chloe didn't reply.  
"At least let me look, then." Beca sighed, she reached out to grab Chloe's fisted hands but the redhead pulled them closer to her body.  
"Don't! It stings." Chloe mumbled childishly. When Beca tried to reach out once more, the redhead slapped Beca's hands away, and then (realising the terrible decision she had just made), whimpered and pulled her hands back towards her body again.

"Calm down Chlo'" Beca said, gentler than before, "Do you trust me?"  
Slowly, Chloe nodded.  
Beca kept her voice soft, "Then let me see."  
Hesitance in tow, the redhead extended her arms and then uncurled her tight fists. Beca studied the tender and red skin before she cupped each hand by its underside and planted a gentle kiss on both palms. Though the touch caused discomfort, Chloe couldn't help but smile when Beca lingered close, own stupid grin adorned to her features.

"Better?" She asked.  
Again, Chloe nodded.  
"But just in case -" The Dj rose to capture her lips against the older womans, a deep and passionate kiss filling the silence where Beca's unfinished sentence lay. When they parted, Chloe's smile widened even further.  
"Now I'm definitely better." The redhead giggled, the pain in her palms now considerably lessened after the distraction of Beca's soft lips.

"Okay then, let's make a fort shall we?" Beca straightened her back, smiled alluringly at the redhead with a playful gleam and then –with a surprising amount of enthusiasm- picked up the remaining sticks and leant them against the tree.

"You serious? You wanna do it?"  
Beca smirked. She nodded her head slightly, "If it makes you happy."

Chloe squealed and wrapped her arms around Beca's neck, burying her head into the crook of the younger woman's neck.  
"Thank you thank you thank you!" She gabbled, "This is going to be so much fun!" Despite the pain that began to sear back through her hands, Chloe's grip remained tight about Beca. The Dj was a little shaken at the sudden person slung around her, but she nuzzled in moments later, keeping a fond smile on her face. If she could keep Chloe happy like this forever, her life would be complete.

When Chloe finally moved away (which was much too soon, In Beca's opinion), she jumped straight to getting the other three poles to stick into the ground. With a good natured shake of her head however, Beca took them from Chloe's pained grip, commenting "I think it'd better if I did this, Hm?"

Chloe giggled feebly, scratching her head, "uh yeah."  
Beca grinned, "Okay, let's do this."

x-x-x-x

Much later, when the den had been completed and the sky had over cast with clouds, Beca sat alone. Her back leaned against the tree and she stared at the outside, eyes fixating on any small water droplet that fell from the sky or bugs that flew in the humidity.  
Chloe had returned inside temporarily to search for some blankets – She had been gone for 5 minutes.

Beca was reflecting. In the couple past days or so, so much had happened. More had happened in the previous 5 days than had probably ever happened in the rest of her entire existence and it was all because of Chloe.  
But also not just the vacation: everything that made her life great.  
She had realised that Chloe Beale was a blessing bestowed upon her life and that though it was cliché (and oh god how it was), she couldn't afford to lose her. That smile and those eyes – Beca was sure without them she'd feel empty, like a lost soul…

The rain drops frequency increased; they began to patter lightly on the parched ground.

Beca still watched in silence, her train of thought leading to deeper and darker places. Maybe before Chloe (and everything that she brought), she was a lost soul. A metaphorical wall built around her, defences from every angle for she cared not – Or didn't want to care – Or simply couldn't let herself be hurt again. It all made sense, when the DJ pieced the puzzle together.

The rain once again became heavier; it now poured from the sky. Stray droplets occasionally bounced into the den and wetted Beca's clothing. She didn't notice.

Her dad had left.  
Her mother gave up.  
Beca scowled into the rain. She still stared intently at the outside and the increasing rain that poured from the heavens. She thought it ironic, how after needing the rain to ease the ground earlier, it came when it was too late…  
Her father seemed much the same. Packed up, gone but needed; returned when Beca had almost forgotten – or at least tried to…

The brunette had been sat in the quiet for a measure of time, of which she wasn't quite sure.  
Chloe and her lack of appearance sprung back to mind.  
She wanted to see the redhead right now. It wasn't so much a want, more an ache.  
Chloe fixed things when they were wrong and in return, Beca had tried to fix Chloe.  
However, fix seemed too strong a word; she wasn't broken.  
No, Beca didn't fix Chloe, but she soothed the scars that jested on occasion and fought her walls to let that perfect little redhead come inside and see that behind that smirk was something genuine...

She sighed and scratched her head absently. The rain had begun to seep into the ground and made it damp, indicating she should probably move or better yet, Chloe should hurry up.

In actual fact, Chloe had collected the blankets minutes prior. She stood in the doorway of the Cabin, out of Beca's line of sight and had watched the Dj as she sat.  
Her heart saddened when she saw Beca's scowl form, body language shift and her eyes glare blank. It was the Beca she knew from a week ago and not the Beca she knew now.

Chloe clutched the blankets tightly and sheltered them under her jacket as she ran towards the Den. Hastily, she half-dived inside to escape from the downpour and consequently, Beca jumped from her absent state. The Dj looked dazed and a little lost; her eyes wide.

Chloe set a blanket on the floor and gestured for Beca to sit on it, to which the brunette complied appreciatively. Then, she joined Beca, sharing the width of the tree to lean against and slowly, her head dropped to the younger woman's shoulder. Chloe grabbed the second blanket and placed it around Beca's shoulders; it elicited a smile, genuine and thankful.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"You looked sad when you though I couldn't see you." Chloe said softly.  
Beca side eyed the redhead, her lips quivered; the smile now dropped.  
"That was an isolated incident." She replied eventually, her words slow and thoughtful.  
Chloe nuzzled into the crook of Beca's neck and sighed contently.  
She whispered, "I hope so."

The rain had reduced to a pitter-patter against the dirt, though the sky remained dark.

Beca tugged the edge of the blanket from her shoulder and threaded it through the gap between Chloe's neck and the tree so it came to rest on the redhead's shoulders, lightly disrupting the lightly curled tresses of ginger locks. Her arm remained where she dropped the blanket, around Chloe's shoulder, hand loosely hanging and drawing delicate circles with her thumb on the covered skin. Beca felt Chloe shiver at the touch and she smiled.  
The brunette could currently feel Chloe's delicate touch, but also see her delicate appearance and sense her delicate smell – She smelled of light summer berries (noticeably strawberries) and a mild dampness, brought on by the torrent of water she had bustled through minutes previously. It was odd, yet homely and Beca found it just perfect.

On the other hand, Chloe –nestled comfortably in the crook of a neck- could feel a whole lot more intimately than Beca could. She spied the gentle rise and fall of Beca's chest and her ears could hear the gentle thump of Beca's beating heart, which seemed to increase every time she came closer. And Chloe could also smell Beca; it was a smell now associated with home.  
She smelled like a faint vanilla, barely noticeable, but present nonetheless. It was pleasant and alluring but carried the gentle slyness that Beca carried with her everywhere. This scent was something for those a lot more personal to the Dj, someone like Chloe herself.

They sat together, back against the tree and staring at the outside for some time. The den, with its tarpaulin roof and walls, provided little protection and yet it still felt like a safe haven. The blanket the twosome shared contributed warmth to this equation and all was at peace.

It was barely mid-afternoon and yet the two managed to find a gentle lull of rest. Chloe curled into Beca's side whilst the brunette kept her arm wrapped around Chloe's shoulder.  
In the returning warmth of the sun (That had now peaked from behind its cloudy clover), they slumbered. Beca's final thoughts being that perhaps –just like movies- dens weren't so bad after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello there! Thank you for waiting over the past month or so whilst I sorted myself out writing-wise.  
> As promised, here is the next chapter. I've made it quite long in order to make up for lost time :)
> 
> Also, I'm going to be changing my writing schedule in the fact that I'll no longer write to a certain time frame. I'm going to write when I feel like it...unfortunately, that might mean gaps between posting but overall it'll make this fic better because I'll be writing when I do have ideas.  
> I hope you all don't mind.
> 
> Anyway, without further ado -

A/N: Hello there! Thank you for waiting over the past month or so whilst I sorted myself out writing-wise.  
As promised, here is the next chapter. I've made it quite long in order to make up for lost time :)

Also, I'm going to be changing my writing schedule in the fact that I'll no longer write to a certain time frame. I'm going to write when I feel like it...unfortunately, that might mean gaps between posting but overall it'll make this fic better because I'll be writing when I do have ideas.  
I hope you all don't mind.

Anyway, without further ado -

A beam from the sun that hung in the lazy late afternoon sky was the alarm that ungracefully awoke Chloe from her peaceful nap. Initially, she jumped away from the brightness, the sudden light having pierced through her eyelids and temporarily blinded her. Then, vision bleary and mind laden with sleep, she rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her palm whilst she gained awareness of her surroundings.  
She spied the tarpaulin and heard the sound of birds from the outside and instantly she smiled in remembrance – The den.

She sat up from where she curled into Beca and tapped the DJ on the arm. Beca recoiled from the touch and groaned. Chloe tried again, only to be on the receiving end of a brisk swat of the younger woman's hand.  
The redhead sighed, "C'mon Becs." She groaned and she knocked her head lightly into Beca's shoulder, giving the brunette a nudge.

"5 more minutes." Beca drawled with a yawn.  
Chloe rolled her eyes and chuckled at the younger woman's antics. She shifted her weight and jumped to a stand and Beca, now without the familiar comfort of a body moulded into hers, whimpered slightly.

"Let's go in the hot tub." Chloe said loudly in an attempt to arouse the DJ from her sleep. And boy, it was effective. Beca instantly seemed to perk up at the hot tub's mention and she shot her eyes open eagerly, though she bashfully smiled when Chloe raised her brows disbelievingly.  
"That got your attention then, huh?"  
"Maybe." Beca chuckled, winking at Chloe in a ridiculous fashion.

The redhead held out her hand; Beca took it gratefully and jumped up. Unfortunately, the sudden rush of movement caused her to stumble and she fell. The twosome crashed into the tarpaulin wall of the den following Beca's lack of coordination and pulled it from its place, causing the rest of the den to crumble around them, the wooden poles that were its foundations now fallen askew.  
There was a few seconds of silence before they burst out laughing as the ruins of their den settled on the ground around them. Giggling, Chloe pulled Beca upright and playfully hit her arm.  
"You bitch, look what you did!" She chided jokingly.  
"You're the one who pulled me up!" Beca retaliated with equal humour in her words and a grin on her face. Chloe found it so beautiful she wanted to capture the other woman's lips right there and then because of it.  
So she did.

The redhead put her hands on either side of Beca's jaw and brought their faces close. She touched their lips together slowly and softly, holding her girlfriend in place as to savour the moment before she applied a little more pressure, causing Beca to moan. The kiss was so simply fulfilling that they both got lost in its gratifying feel and it took another sharp ray of sun to split apart the two as they lingered, breath mingling with the summer heat.  
A shiver of arousal quivered through Beca's body as it awoke; the ghost of Chloe's lips felt like a shot of caffeine and if her dilated pupils were anything to go by, she was no longer in need of any more sleep.  
Chloe pulled away seconds later, smile playing her features in knowledge of the effect she had.

"Wow," Beca breathed out, "I'm definitely awake now."  
Chloe giggled, "I'd certainly hope so!"  
The redhead linked their hands and began to lead Beca back over to the cabin.

"Shouldn't I clean up the mess?" Beca asked, glancing over her shoulder. She didn't really care but she knew it was probably best if it was cleared away and besides, she concluded it was the least she could following her kind awakening. In response, Chloe shrugged.  
"I mean, you could but that means less time in the hot tub." Chloe grinned teasingly and Beca relented, because damn – Chloe was cute.

The brunette allowed herself to be dragged back to the cabin.  
Almost too willingly, she let Chloe choose out a bikini for her and got changed in the bathroom accordingly whilst the redhead changed in the bedroom. She had made a joke of re-enacting the scene from the campus bathroom a few months back, which Chloe oddly brushed off with a shy (and even more uncharacteristically uncomfortable) smile.

"What's wrong?" Beca asked softly as she noted the redhead's unease, "We've joked about the shower before… I was only trying to be funny."  
"I know you were Becs'," Chloe replied softly, placing a hand to caress Beca's cheek, instantly dissipating Beca's defensive doubts, "but it's just words, y'know? To actually repeat that would be-"  
"-Uncomfortable?" Beca guessed.  
Chloe nodded.  
Beca shook her head dismissively, "Right, yeah, sorry." she mumbled into an awkward, breathy chuckle.  
"Stop apologising, it's fine." Chloe mirrored Beca's dismissive action seconds later and put on a smile, as if she'd already forgotten the ordeal, "I think it's time we get in the hot tub."  
Beca quickly agreed.

x-x-x

Beca watched in silence as Chloe leaned over and went to lift the hot tub's cover. Admittedly, the brunette was staring at certain parts of the redhead more than others -not that she'd admit. However when Chloe effort with difficulty and was unable to lift the cover herself, the DJ was quick to help, prodding fun at the taller woman's difficulty.

The 30 seconds it took from the bedroom to the front of the cabin where the hot tub resided was oddly tense, neither of them having spoken since Chloe's abrupt topic change. But as they reached the door Chloe stopped, locked her fingers with Beca's own and whispered a quiet "I love you." before she kissed the Dj briskly.  
In reply, Beca smiled and returned the sentiment.  
All was forgiven in a heartbeat.

"Right, in you get!" Chloe beamed, giving Beca a grin.  
The Dj smiled knowingly, "No no, I insist, you first."  
"Don't you trust me?"  
"Not really."  
Chloe slapped Beca's arm playfully, "Aw c'mon!"  
Beca rolled her eyes and smirked. After a few seconds of Chloe's intense stare, she relented and clambered in.

The water was –as to be expected- extremely hot. Consequently, Beca yelped girlishly as she slid the last of her shoulders under the water's bubbling surface, much to Chloe's amusement. Chloe herself joined the other woman seconds later and settled down with a lot more grace, giggling further as Beca watched with a childish envy.  
"Relax Becs, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." Chloe joked as she loosened her muscles against the force of the water jets, linking her hands behind her head to rest on them; head titled so her field of view was just level with the brunette's.  
"Oh hah hah." Beca replied dryly, playfully flicking some water in Chloe's direction before she relaxed also.

They sat in peaceful silence for a while.  
Whilst they lay, sounds of crickets and birds littered the surrounding area and an occasional summer breeze whistled past their bodies, providing a pleasant cooling sensation that contradicted the effervescing heat.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Chloe sighed out contently.  
"Mm yeah," Beca agreed, letting out a slow hum of satisfaction, "It's a shame we're leaving in like a day and a half."  
"Shit yeah, we only had a week…"  
Beca smirked, "It's been one hell of a week, if you think about it Chlo'"

The redhead sat up properly and smiled at Beca, "It has, hasn't it?" She reached out her arm and beckoned with her finger, "C'mere."  
Beca grinned and paddled across to Chloe, falling gently into her outstretched arm and allowing the redhead to hold her tight. The Dj nuzzled into the crook of Chloe's neck and breathed in her light scent, smiling at its familiarity.

The combination of these elements – The warmth hot tub, the heat of their embrace and the fire of Beca's lips that ghosted Chloe's skin – gave the atmosphere intimacy, that neither of the twosome could deny.

Beca had begun to kiss at Chloe's neck. Soft, peppered kisses that lengthened and became slowly rougher, all whilst Beca freed one of her arms and placed it gently on Chloe's waist. The kisses weren't erotic per say, but Chloe couldn't help the shaky breath that she exhaled upon feeling the younger woman's lips caress her pulse point.

The sound of Chloe's breathing stirred something in Beca however; she pulled back, wide eyed. Guiltily, she wiped her mouth with her hand and sighed.  
"Sorry, I should've ask-"  
"It's okay." Chloe assured, taking Beca's hand away from where it lingered in front of her face. Chloe smiled shyly, "at least you knew to stop…"

Beca shook her head. She had come upon a realisation, seconds after she had pulled away and before she had apologised. The reason why it felt wrong and the reason it still did feel wrong was simple – Something she had previously not considered properly.  
Chloe was a victim.  
As much as she hated to stereotype – It was unfortunately true.  
Waiting for her to be ready would not help since they both had been going at this from the wrong angle. They were trying passion, fast paced, neck biting intimacy.  
Beca however, had concluded this only lead to the revival of memories Chloe didn't particularly want to remember...Or this is what she only could assume considering her girlfriend's discomfort when put into such a situation.  
Beca needed to put Chloe at ease; take a different approach. This, the Dj decided, was the way forward.

"Chloe," Beca suddenly said, breaking the few seconds of silence as she had neglected to reply, "I want to try something." She gazed at Chloe thoughtfully, a small trusting smile adorned to her features. The lack of sensuality in that look acted as a reassurance to Chloe in that moment; she knew to trust Beca in whatever suggestion she had. Slowly, she nodded.

Beca stood, dripping from the water, and stepped out of the hot tub. She claimed her towel, wrapped herself up and then turned back to Chloe, offering her hand.  
"Do you trust me?" She asked quietly.  
Chloe nodded but realising she had said nothing over the last few minutes, she replied (equally as softly), "Of course."

Chloe took Beca's hand. Shakily, she stood from the hot tub, nearly slipping as she climbed out but supported by the younger woman, she managed to keep her footing. Beca grabbed Chloe's towel and put it over the redhead's shoulders.  
Then, she –still holding her hand- lead Chloe through the cabin, to the bedroom.

They entered together and for a second time, Beca said, "I want to try something."  
She turned to Chloe, dropping her own towel before she lightly shifted Chloe's off of her shoulders.  
They stood, facing each other.

"Don't freak out." Beca said reassuringly as she began to remove her bikini. The Dj kept a trusting eye contact with Chloe as she stripped. When she was completely naked, she held Chloe's hand and gave it a squeeze.  
"Is this okay?" She asked lowly.

Chloe nodded and whispered, "Yes."  
For once, she was being honest.

"Now, do you think you could take off yours?" Beca's voice was soft, different to her usual confident tones. She neither pushed Chloe nor discouraged her; she made it her decision to make.  
Chloe took a deep breath; disentangled Beca's hand from hers.  
She repeated Beca's actions of removing her limited clothing and stood, bare, facing Beca with nothing but pure faith.

"You're beautiful." She heard the younger woman murmur at the same time she felt a hand caress her cheek and another rest on her hip.  
It wasn't uncomfortable, she decided. In fact, it just strengthened her trust even more.

"We're going to do this steadily, okay?" Beca's hands then ran down the redhead's arms, linking their hands once they had travelled far enough. The gesture produced electricity, the very hairs on the back of Chloe's neck rose with a sudden arousal – It felt like warmth pooling in the depth of her stomach and was much unlike any other sensation she had ever experienced.

Slowly, Beca lead Chloe over to the bed, where she laid Chloe's body gently against the mattress, remaining on top so she could remove herself if anything were to go wrong.

This is where they remained for a few minutes. Beca on top of Chloe as they stared into each other's eyes; breathless despite a lack of movement.  
If anything went wrong from here, Beca wouldn't mind because this was already progress enough.

The Dj smiled, "So so beautiful," she reiterated, skimming her thumb across Chloe's cheek.  
"Are you okay?" Beca also asked, conscious that her comfort may not exactly reflect that of her partner. Fortunately, Chloe nodded once more and even cracked an undoubting smile, craning her neck upwards to lightly brush hers and Beca's lips.  
"Thank you." She whispered against the other woman's skin.

"Do you want to go further?" Beca whispered in Chloe's ear, allowing herself a small but victorious smile as she felt the redhead gasp and subsequently choke out, "uh huh", syllables shaky with her newfound arousal.

Beca began as she had previously, with kisses being planted on Chloe's neck delicately and with great care. It was slow and gentle and loving as Beca marked the older woman's skin with the feel of her lips, slowing moving upwards towards her jaw line.  
Chloe reciprocated. Her hands, once gripped tightly to the sheets without knowledge of what to do, made their way to rest on Beca's waist, a light but equally confident grip giving Beca incentive (and permission) to continue.

Chloe was surprised by how she felt. She felt stripped in a sense, as if her worries and doubts about sex were beginning to bubble away. This only became ever clearer as Beca kissed down her jawline, paused to breathe and then slowly leaned in to make their soft, supple lips meet in the middle.

The fireworks exploded, the waves crashed down. Gradually, the enlivening feel of their slow burning passion spread throughout the twosome's bodies.  
Their kiss turned a little more heated; their hands ran down each other's curves and their lower body's rocked in unison gently.  
Every motion was still so gentle and careful and yet their passion was unmatched. Each movement painstakingly slow and hot, like a steady burning fire.

The redhead moaned against Beca's lips and grinned ever so slightly in awe as she locked her eyes once more with the other woman. The Dj's stormy blue irises were luminous; her pupils large; they bored back at Chloe's crystal eyes with a sense of tenderness and affection, whilst still withholding that stimulating spark that caused Chloe's breath to hitch whenever she saw it.

Beca broke the eye contact, her eyes flitting downwards towards the valley of Chloe's breasts before she lifted one of her hands, using the other to support herself. She traced the line of the older woman's collar bone with a feathery touch before moving down further to firmly grope Chloe's breast. She kneaded it gently in her hand, eliciting a small guttural groan from the redhead.

"Beca," Chloe moaned thickly into the room.  
Beca immediately stopped and pushed herself up to distance their bodies, giving a concerned expression. Softly, she asked, "Do you want me to stop?"  
Chloe shook her head (and even gave a breathy chuckle), "No, I want you to keep going"  
Beca stared for a minute in disbelief, and then she smiled.  
Chloe pouted a little, "Please?"  
"Anything for you" Beca replied, sealing the deal with a kiss.

Chloe started to take lead a bit more. She leaned into the kiss, nibbling at Beca's bottom lip, teasing with her tongue. For once, she actually found it enjoyable.  
She allowed the continuation of their grinding but Beca, who was still cautious, had yet to do anything else other than trace her curves and grope her chest.  
Decidedly, Chloe removed her left hand from the other woman's waist and cupped it around Beca's free hand. She began to run it down her abdomen, allowing Beca's fingertips to grace her toned stomach and continue even further before she stopped at her crotch.

Both she and Beca could feel the radiating heat of her sex.  
Chloe's hand quivered, her fingers tightening around Beca's undecidedly as she toyed with her thoughts.  
Beca gave a challenging expression. She tried to flex her hand out to avoid cramp but Chloe's fingers locked tighter; Beca winced.  
"We can stop here…" She whispered, adjusting her positioning to allow herself to kiss Chloe's forehead, an innocent gesture amidst the not-so-innocent.

"N-no, let's keep going." Chloe replied, brave face displayed, eyes burning with need.  
Beca nodded, kissing Chloe's lips one final time before she moved herself downwards and consequently freed herself from the redhead's tentative grip.

The brunette got to work, gracing every inch of Chloe's skin she could. A few kisses to her abdomen, some light nails rakes to her abs, gentle nipping at her hipbones. With each precise movement, Chloe came undone – she whimpered, her body jerked, hands messily tangled in Beca's brunette locks.  
Beca loved every second of it because she could finally see Chloe unravelled and in a mind-set where her worries (no matter how little she showed of them) were temporarily a far off memory and all that could be focused on was their touches; the electrifying feeling they produced.

Beca's hand that had moved to the older woman's thigh travelled back across, meeting the Dj's other to part Chloe's legs slowly.  
One of Beca's hands gravitated towards the redhead's sex, her fingers brushing the women's folds that were wet with arousal. Chloe shuddered, letting out a short sharp gasp as Beca's cold fingers stroked her below.  
"Mm, how does that feel?" The Dj asked huskily.  
Chloe moaned appreciatively, grinding her hips, suddenly writhing for the intimacy.

Beca toyed with Chloe's clitoris for a moment after that, teasing the pulsating bundle of sensitive nerves gently with her fingertips. Chloe gave a small squeal and hissed at this unfamiliar stimulation. Violently, her hands gripped tighter in Beca's hair, her growing excitement evident.  
Beca smirked. Gradually, she slowed the circling motions and trailed her fingers down to Chloe's cunt where she could feel the musty heat and arousal in all its deadly alluring bliss.

The Dj took a few seconds (and no more) to glance up at her girlfriend. Chloe's laid with her hair splayed perfectly on the pillow, her eyes lightly in anticipation and with features that gleamed in the lighting. The word beautiful came to mind, but it wasn't appropriate – No, she looked sensuous.

With that playing her mind, Beca thrusted two fingers deep into the redhead's slit with an unintentional force. Chloe jolted at abrupt filling of her cunt, releasing a erotic cry of Beca's name that muffled into her quickly followed whimpers. Her hips bucked and she all but froze as the younger woman's fervent digits set up a pace, dipping in and out rhythmically.  
Chloe breathed shallowly, unaccustomed to the feeling but finding it increasingly pleasurable with each ardent thrust and every sly curl of Beca's fingers.

Progressively, the rest of her body thawed its shocked nature. Clenched fists had fallen from Beca's hair and now clawed hungrily at the younger woman's shoulder blades, leaving afflicting red marks in their wake and hips, once jerked out from an initial tension, rocked naturally with the pulse of the DJ's thrusting.

Beca used her free digits to rouse Chloe's clit once again, circling it painfully slow to contradict the increasing speed of her fucking. The sensitive nub throbbed with each precise movement; every smouldering touch caused sinful amounts of unadulterated ecstasy to pool deep in Chloe's abdomen, where it bubbled with acceleration.

Beca added a third finger. With ease, it joined the other two in their hungered ramming, filling Chloe's cunt repeatedly with a feverish pace.  
The redhead choked on her breath, a sharp intake escaping her mouth that was otherwise whimpering Beca's name under shallow whimpers.  
The intensity of Chloe's calling increased; Beca intensified her thrusts.

Chloe began to feel lightheaded. The immeasurable bliss caused her to tense, the fire within her burned hotly – almost too much so. An explosion of heart-stopping pleasure was on the brink of ignition and with a final few forcible drives of her digits, Beca unleashed Chloe's unmerciful orgasm in rippling trails of fire that coursed her veins. Chloe's entire body shuddered with its violent nature; cries of Beca's names elicited in between tangled swears of "Jesus, fuck,"

Beca allowed Chloe to ride the orgasm out, merely watching in awe at the beauty of the woman that laid before her. She crawled back up the older woman's body, bringing the bed sheets to tuck around Chloe's now exhausted body. The redhead's breathing had slowly deepened following the climax and was somewhat regulated, but as Beca lead her head on Chloe's chest, she felt the excited heartbeat fuelled by their passion.

Chloe's expression was unreadable, but she was wide eyed and blinking rapidly.  
Beca kissed Chloe's cheek, "hey," she cooed, "are you okay?"  
Chloe nodded dumbly and looked to Beca, eyes glistening. "That was…wow."  
The Dj smirked, "So you are okay, then?"  
The redhead cocked her head to side, smile spreading across her lips, "You just showed me how to enjoy sex again, I think I'm more than okay."

With that, Beca appeared triumphant but her expression softened when she saw the genuine appreciation in Chloe's expression. The comment Chloe made sounded comedic, but it was honest and Beca couldn't have asked for more.

"I love you." Beca whispered.  
Chloe looked to Beca, shocked.  
Slowly, she leaned down and kissed the brunette tenderly, lighting cupping Beca's face with her hands.  
They parted and lingered closely.  
Voice hushed, Chloe replied, "I love you too."


	15. Chapter 15

Beca and Chloe’s newly tension freed bodies had exhausted themselves long before the sun had set upon the day and they fell into a gentle sleep; the darkness of the curtain drawn bedroom having convinced them that it was later than it was.  
In fact, it was barely past 7pm when their closely beating hearts had calmed and their bare forms (still entangled together) drifted away from consciousness with smiles of pleasure adorned to their lips, that minutes prior had ghosted the other’s skin.

Their sleep was peaceful and undeterred; like the last few nights had been, where neither occupant of the bed was afflicted by nightmares or insomnia. Definitely, it seemed, that their sleep was even better the closer they were and at that moment in time, their closeness was unmatched. Beca’s head lay idly on Chloe’s chest whilst Chloe’s arm had found its way around Beca’s waist, holding her tightly.

Occasionally, Beca would shift and her free arm reached out – a habit formed after years of needing an anchor after awaking from a bad dream – and her fingers would find themselves brushing against the ginger tresses of Chloe’s hair, which they softly gripped as the Dj’s subconscious regained the memory that Chloe was there within reach. This caused the smile on Beca’s sleeping expression to widen – It seemed Chloe had a profound effect on Beca, conscious of it or not.

X-X-X

Hours later, Beca’s eyes fluttered open, meeting darkness unfamiliar to the time of day it was – or well, the time she thought it was. She craned her head upwards and in her shaded vision, she caught a glance of Chloe, still asleep and smiling as ever. Carefully, Beca disentangled herself from the redhead and glanced over to the clock; its green luminous letters read ‘4:30 AM’.

Beca rubbed her eyes and whispered a sleep-laden grumble of “Jesus Christ,” before she sat up, swivelled her legs over the edge of the bed and hopped off, as to not disturb Chloe with her sudden activity. With a fond smile of the memories of last night and a shiver that preceded it (for she had forgotten that she was nude and repercussions of that) she sauntered over to chair in the corner and claimed Chloe’s bath robe, which she wrapped herself in. Beca breathed in Chloe’s scent and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying her girlfriend’s smell for which she never seemed to tire of.

When she opened her eyes, her vision fell upon Chloe once more. A slither of early morning light had broken through a crack in the curtains and illuminated her in such a way that she appeared almost angelic – Her skin pale, hair like fire and delicate features that the light could only compliment. Beca just looked in admiration and felt damn lucky to be in the position she was in, because truthfully, there seemed to be nothing better.

Beca left the bedroom a few minutes later and made a beeline to the kitchen. She turned on the light and then went to the cupboard, claimed a cup, filled it with orange juice from the fridge and then sipped at it whilst she leant against the kitchen counter. From here, drink in hand, she thought – about life and her situation and whatever else she happened to come across.

She was happy –She concluded honestly– for the first time in a while. The last time she probably felt something even half as good as this was when the Bellas had gotten through to the next phase of the ICCA’s and even then, it only emanated a few days before run-of-the-mill ‘fine’ became her default emotion again. Being at the cabin – Being in love with Chloe, for that matter – was comparative to taking the ICCA victory, adding a couple of lottery wins plus a constant stream of adrenaline to her veins, and then some.

With a nod, Beca brought the cup back to her lips of the head and drained it of the rest of the juice. She placed it on the counter, the glass making a gentle clink as it hit the surface.  
Slowly, Beca pushed herself away from the counter and lazily made her way across the kitchen and living space to reach the door. She parted the blinds and peeked through.

The sky was swirls of navy blue with peaks of light beginning to ripple within the low lying clouds. The vastness was indescribable; the clarity of each individual colour was noticed by Beca of who studied the different shades with great care and compared it to the sky back home which only contained darkness and an orange glow of street lights. She didn’t know which she preferred, but found the sight in front of her appealing nonetheless.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?”  
Beca turned at the sound of Chloe’s soft voice and she nodded in agreement.  
Chloe’s eyes, though bright, were obviously recently awoken and they looked upon Beca with a peaceful sleepy quality. A crooked smile lay upon Chloe’s face, an endearing mix between adoration and ‘I’m not yet awake enough to function’ whilst Chloe herself stood precariously, feet spread for balance. She had pulled on an oversized t-shirt to cover herself with, but still shivered. Beca considered handing over the bath robe until she remembered her lack of clothing underneath and she instantly disregarded the thought, despite the trip of guilt that followed (plus the realisation that Chloe had already seen her naked before…twice).

“Been awake long?” Beca asked.  
Chloe yawned and shook her head, “Nope.”  
“Oh…”

There was a small silence.  
Beca looked back towards the door.

“Hey Chloe,” She called, grinning when the redhead glanced up from her drooped head stance (possibly or possibly not falling back asleep); “Wanna watch the sunrise?”  
Chloe’s eyes grew wide; their piercingly blue iris seemed to twinkle with zeal at the opportunity and Chloe then nodded her head. “I would,” she admitted quietly.  
Beca’s grin turned to an adoring crooked smirk. She walked a few steps to close the gap between Chloe and her, grabbed the older woman’s hand and then slowly, led her to the doorway.

Beca twisted the lock and pushed down the stiff door handle with a grunt. It clicked unlocked and creaked on its hinges as it opened, revealing a draft of cool morning air. Beca closed it again with haste. “Okay,” She said, her voice high, “It’s kind of cold out there.”  
Chloe raised a brow, “Are you sure?”  
“No Chloe, It’s boiling.” Beca replied, her sarcasm coming through in-between a gentle chuckle.  
“Okay okay,” Chloe humoured, “What should we do then?”

Beca looked around the living space a few times, her eyes gently graced every surface and flitted between positions with every spark of an idea, her face pulled into a thoughtful pout. She turned to Chloe. “…Let’s both put on some clothing and then we can bring the blanket that’s down the back of the couch with us outside?”  
Chloe smiled; she kissed Beca’s nose, “You’re such a genius babe,” She said with a giggle.  
Beca flipped her hair in a cliché manner, “Well, that’s what you get with Barden level education.”  
“Oh, totes.” Chloe winked.  
Beca tapped Chloe’s arm playfully and rolled her eyes, “Well, we better go get changed then.” She suggested with a nod of her head in the direction of the bedroom. Chloe agreed, grabbing Beca’s hand as she led their way through the cabin.

x-x-x-x

Beca and Chloe sat cuddled together on a bench, located on the opposite side of the decked porch from the hot tub. Their body heat mingled under the blanket they shared, warming them to the point of what should’ve been considered uncomfortable and yet only felt like a homely cosiness. The sky was now ablaze, a deep red colour on the horizon that emanated into hues of fire and twists of light that settled with an orange glow on everything it touched. The only thing comparable to the colour, in Beca’s opinion, could’ve been Chloe’s hair – Comparable in its bright burning colour and ability to entice.

 

The Dj was fixated on Chloe. Slowly, her hand reached out and her index finger found its way to one of Chloe’s many locks of hair and wrapped itself around. Beca became fixated on its beauty, only magnified by the watchful expression on Chloe’s face as she faced the rising sun. Chloe’s expression widened a little when she felt Beca’s touch, but relaxed moments later, soon falling into a tranquil smile.  
Beca smiled also, continuing to play her fingers through Chloe’s hair.

“You’re missing the sun rise.” Chloe reprimanded softly.  
“Yeah? Well the real beauty is right here.” Beca replied instantly.  
Chloe gave a breathy laugh, “You did not just say that.” She turned her head (despite her previous aversion to looking away from the sunset) and gave a playfully quizzical expression, “Rebecca Joan Mitchell, since when were you such a cheese ball?!” But then she grinned.

Beca gave a teasing wink and leaned in to grace their lips together softly; the brunette lingered and the decision prevailed itself for a moment – Sarcastic as expected response, or serious and honest response?  
She chose the latter, whispering it softly into Chloe’s ear.  
“Ever since I was allowed to love you”

Chloe tensed, the words sending a chill down her spine. She closed her eyes and let out a lengthy exhale and as she did, a large smile cracked it’s away across her face. The words echoed around her head, becoming an analytical blur but she became unstuck at one word in particular.  
“Allowed.” She murmured under her breath; she tasted the word in her mouth, searching for Beca’s meaning.

“Mhmm” Beca hummed confidently, “After you told me about you-know-what, I was worried…Worried about you and your wellbeing but I was also worried about love, y’know?” Beca sat up a little straighter; she cleared her throat, “I was scared that maybe that guy had ruined it for you and obviously, with my feelings for you (Chloe smiled at this), that scared me too. It’s kind of selfish but I realised my only chance would be for me to work my way in and try and… “ Beca’s mouth hung for a second as she thought. She bit her lip anxiously. “…Fix you? Wait. No. That’s not what I meant. Shit…Uh – Like, I wanted your permission to try and ease your worries so that your possibly negative and/or painful concept of love could be lessened…If that makes sense.” Beca sighed to herself, shaking her head “Sorry, it sounds so unromantic,” She gestured to the sky, “I’m totally ruining the moment.”

Chloe looked stunned. Her jaw hung loosely, eyes twinkling. Slowly, she swallowed the emotional lump in her throat and cracked another smile, shy and reserved.  
“Ruining the moment? You made it better.” She said lowly. “Beca, I had no idea you had thought about it so much…”

Beca closed her eyes to think and then opened them slowly, “I consider things a lot more than people think.” She smirked. “Yeah, I used to think nights upon end about the way your hair caught the light, the twinkle in your eyes… but they also seemed kinda sad.” Beca turned her head and looked out to the sun, almost risen, adding a further brilliant glow to the sky’s canvas. “We’re strange parallels Chloe. Me, I’m thunder and lightning on the outside but loving to those who know me. You, you’re loving to everyone but you’re actually kind of emotionally heavy.”  
Chloe nodded understandingly. She stopped staring at Beca, stared to the sky also and then linked her and Beca’s hand. After a few seconds of silence, thoughtful smiling never fading, she said “We balance each other out.”

Beca’s expression dropped, hearing Chloe’s words, only to be brought back to a knowing look of approval. She cocked her head to the side, “Yeah,” She breathed out, grinning, “I guess we do.”

Chloe giggled, “It’s so weird, you’re such a deep person- A riddle of sarcasm in a conundrum of maturity!”  
Beca smirked, “Well hey; it’s your fault I’m all loved up. You better not tell the Bellas about this, I have reputation to uphold!” She joked in order to lighten the mood, nudging Chloe with her shoulder and then kissing her when she played up to it and pouted in mock anger.  
“I’m totes telling Aubrey you suggested watching the sunrise.”  
Beca sighed submissively, “I suppose I can deal with that.”

Chloe reached out, wrapping her arms around Beca, pulling her closer to snuggle again. She kissed Beca’s cheek and smiled. Looking out the sky, the sun had all but risen and the sky was fading to a brilliant blue whilst the summer warmth it brought with it began to rise. Birds tweeted in the trees and the fish from the lake splashed just beneath the surface.  
Everything, everyone, was tranquil.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, this is a little bit of a filler chapter, as I needed to get to Beca and Chloe to where they are at the end so I can have fun with the next chapter. I apologise for my slowness - I'll admit now that with upcoming exams and increasing homework I've been unable to write. I will, however, not give up on this story and despite the slow updates, it will get completed!

Following their sunrise watching, Beca and Chloe proceeded to kick off the blanket wrapped around them and make their way inside. From there they made breakfast (despite it only being 5:30am) and sat at the small dining table, eating it at a leisurely pace.

Beca pushed her cereal around its bowl with her spoon, ate a mouthful, grimaced and then put the spoon back into the bowl.  
"Ugh, someone needs to make cereal that doesn't turn into baby food when you add milk to it." She complained, pushing the bowl away from her.  
Naturally, Chloe giggled at this, continuing to eat her more appetizing (as Beca now realised) scrambled eggs with exaggerated enjoyment. "Well," Chloe smirked, "you could just not put milk in it…"

Beca shrugged non-committedly, replying "Nah, all good cereal needs milk."  
Chloe shook her head with a smile, and placed down her fork. "You're such a dork, Beca."  
"Don't tell anyone." Beca loudly whispered, winking at Chloe playfully before she stood from the table and threw the rest of her cereal into the trash, sighing with discontentment when she finally placed the bowl in the sink.

"Was your cereal really that disappointing?" Chloe grinned with amusement.  
"Yep." Beca replied simply, instead deciding to focus on her orange juice which she sipped slowly, watching as Chloe finished her food.

"…So, we've got all of today and until like 10am tomorrow." Chloe said after a small pause, "what should we do?"  
Beca shuffled in her chair and shrugged, "I don't know…I mean, I don't really want to think that it's gonna be over tomorrow, y'know?"  
Chloe reached out across the table to link her and Beca's hand; she gave it a reassuring squeeze, "hey now, "she cooed, "we'll always have the memories, Bec' and look at us!" she waved their joined hands as to prove a point, "we have each other!"

Beca smiled softly, "you're right, Chlo'."  
She disentangled their hands so she could push her chair away from the table and stand, so in turn she could walk around the table and wrap her arms around Chloe.  
Beca hummed lowly as she planted a gentle kiss to Chloe's cheek. Chloe reciprocated with a giggle and a blush, her smile only deepening with Beca's tender touch.

"God, it'd be so nice if I could see this side of you always." She said absently as Beca continued to embrace her.  
Running a hand through Chloe's ginger tresses, Beca replied with a slow and thoughtful tone, "Well, you could, y'know…I mean, if we uh, told the Bellas and you could maybe stay at my place sometime?"  
Chloe grinned, "Are you sure?"  
Beca breathed in and let out a shaky exhale, "Nope, not at all," and then she gave a breathy laugh, "But, it'll be easier, for both of us."  
Chloe closed her eyes, still smiling as she breathed out with contentment; she craned her neck and pecked Beca's lips before she murmured, "I love you."  
Beca's expression lightened, "I love you, too."

There was a brief silence where they simply stared at each other, adoration in their gazes. Then suddenly, Beca's expression began to widen. Her mouth opened and curled into a mischievous smile, one that provoked Chloe's imploring nature into trying to figure out Beca's abrupt train of thought. Beca gave a small, self-assuring nod of the head, then said "Hey Chlo', I just remembered somethin'."  
Chloe's brow knitted into a thoughtful scowl, "what?" she asked, mystified.

"So…do you remember last week? Like, Aubrey seemed really uptight about this whole thing?"  
Chloe nodded, baring a humoured smile that seemed to acknowledge her best friend's behaviour from their last meeting.  
"Well, I never told you this but according to her, she knew all about my crush on you and she asked what my 'intentions' were." Beca revealed this with a cheeky grin and with the same air quotes gesture she had used when Aubrey was interrogating her just over a week prior. Then she continued to watch with enjoyment as Chloe's expression broke into bewilderment and the redhead, of whom couldn't believe what she was hearing, erupted into a melodious laughter.  
"Seriously?!" Chloe gasped out, giggling uncontrollably, "Jeez, it's been a while since she's done that."

"A while?! You mean she's done this before?"  
Chloe nodded, her expression nostalgic, "Yep. She used to do it all the time but I told her to stop…"  
"I wonder why." Beca smirked.  
"I still can't believe she did that to you though Bec'. God, I have to talk to her about that…"  
Beca flicked her wrist dismissively, "Nah it's cool, just thought I'd tell you. Let's just focus on today, yeah?"  
Chloe's grinned, winking playfully at Beca, "Yeah yeah, whatever you want babe," She wriggled free of Beca's embrace and stretched out her arms; with a yawn, she added, "What do you wanna do, then?"

Beca scratched her head and looked around the kitchen, hoping as if something interesting to do would just magically appear in front of her – She unfortunately, had no such luck. She hummed a thoughtful tone and pouted a little, "I honestly have no idea…"

"What time is it?" Chloe asked.  
Beca looked at the clock, "6:30am" she replied, a little surprised as she had forgotten how early they had gotten up and moreover, surprised that she wasn't tired at all. Chloe's fingers drummed a pattern on the table's surface but then she turned away from the table to face Beca and she grinned a smile of sudden inspiration. Although, she did have to cough to make Beca look away from the clock.  
When Beca finally saw Chloe's expression, she smirked. "I know that face," she humoured, "What have you planned now, Beale?"  
Chloe continued to smile widely, "Just get dressed, I'll tell you after."

x-x-x-x

Beca emerged from the bedroom, having gotten ready after Chloe. The redhead was sat at the table flicking through a magazine; Beca approached her silently. She watched for a moment as Chloe hummed a little tune to herself and at that, Beca smirked.  
"Enjoying yourself there?" She asked playfully, smirk only increasing as Chloe jumped from her seat at the sudden noise.  
"Jesus!" Chloe yelped as she stood with dramatic prose, magazine rolled up in her hand defensively.  
Beca chuckled," Nope, just me." And she winked at Chloe's embarrassed pout.

"You're such an ass, Beca"  
"Really? You called me Jesus just a second ago."  
Chloe hit Beca on the arm with the magazine.  
"Ow."  
Chloe shook her head, but giggled anyway. "Okay come on, seriously now, are you all ready?"  
"Yes I am, thank you for asking." Beca replied as she snatched the magazine from Chlo, hit her back and then tossed the booklet onto the couch of the open plan living space adjoined to the kitchen, smirking as Chloe mocked a shocked reaction.  
"…Okay, now I'm ready." Beca said after a second.  
Chloe rolled her eyes good naturedly. She grabbed Beca's hand and lead her through the kitchen/living space to the door, explaining as they went.

"Okay, so I remember looking through some leaflets about this place before we left and I distinctly remember some talk of there being a cute little village nearby that's apparently a great place for tourists. Apparently there are old fashioned bars but also some small tea shops and like, those independent quirky stores that sell-"  
"Chlo'," Beca interrupted, "you wanna go there, right?"  
Chloe bit her lip, "Was it that obvious?" She asked sheepishly.  
"Yeah but I don't mind. Sure, visiting a 'cute village' isn't exactly my thing but who knows, I might be pleasantly surprised…this whole week has been a massive eye opener, honestly."

By that point, they had left the cabin, locked its door and reached the car. Excitedly, Chloe kissed Beca and hugged her tightly, pushing the smaller girl against the car door to which Beca chuckled uneasily.  
"Thank you Becs, you're the best!"  
"I know I know," Beca wheezed, "but I'm kind of pushed against the door and you're crushing me so please move." She said quickly.  
"Oh!" Chloe yelped out, "Sorry," she apologised, stepping away from Beca quickly.  
"Don't worry, now c'mon let's get moving."

They got into the car, did up their seat belts and Beca started the ignition. The car purred into life; the radio came on and began to play quietly in the background as Beca backed the car out of the cabin's gravel driveway. Slowly, she did a 3 point turn and finally drove the car out onto the road they entered from nearly a week prior with Beca giving a quick glance to Chloe as to which direction she should head in –The answer being to turn left at the end of the small road that lead from the main path to the cabins. They drove in almost silence, the quiet hum of the road playing (by a not all too hilarious coincidence) 'Titanium' enough to satisfy the need for sound. Chloe murmured along with the words whilst Beca focused on the road, though with it being so empty she occasionally looked over at Chloe and smiled in adoration of the redhead's interest in watching the passing nature and her gentle singing voice, unhindered by those pesky nodes of hers.

After a few moments, Beca came to a small realisation. She smirked.  
"Y'know, we never actually went fishing…even though there's a massive fishing lake no less than 25 metres from our cabin."  
Chloe, in her daze, jumped at the sound of Beca's voice and unfortunately, took a small while to process the sound. She stared at Beca and scowled thoughtfully, "Hmmm, you're right...We don't even have any fishing rods so it's not like we could anyway."  
Beca's thumbs played a rhythm on the steering wheel as she drove into a turning she had almost missed. After a mumble of curses, she nodded, "Fishing's kind of boring so I'm not too bothered by that." She said, shrugging.  
"Same here." Chloe agreed before turning back to the window to continue her singing.

The drive wasn't long, perhaps 20 minutes at the most. Though, in that short time the gentle quiet of the radio had raised until both Beca and Chloe were singing along to the music; Chloe bobbed along enthusiastically and although Beca would've liked to, she was still driving and so she kept her movements to the minimal. When they drove up into the village (Which wasn't nearly as small as Chloe had seemingly described), they gained a few odd looks as Beca looked for a spot to park. Though, this may have been because it was still very early and the only people out were either jogging or on their way to work and most likely had not expected a car with two young adults to randomly drive into their peaceful little lives.

Beca drove into a parking spot on the side of a street and pulled the handbrake. Her lips were pulled into a line that made her expression comically awkward and she gave a small humoured sigh.  
"Chloe," She said, gaining her girlfriend's attention, "Its 7:10Am."  
Chloe smiled knowingly, as if she knew that was what Beca was going to say.  
Beca's brows rose in disbelieving fashion; her gawking expression only leading Chloe to giggle, then she leant across the car and pecked Beca on the cheek. "I know," Chloe murmured, "It gives us more time for fun."  
"More like more time for you to spend on buying stuff." Beca deadpanned in reply.  
"You know me too well!" Chloe returned, voice chipper and cheeky as ever. She opened her door and then gestured across the street. "Look Becs', there's a diner over there."  
Beca rolled her eyes, "You've already eaten." She stated, though she still opened her own door and followed Chloe with compliance, because who was she to deny food?  
"Yeah, and?" Chloe queried with a shrug.  
"Well…nothing, I suppose."  
Chloe grabbed Beca's hand to quicken their pace. Almost excitedly, she pulled Beca towards the diner, the Dj in tow simply shaking her head with a fond smirk on her face.

"It's our last day," Chloe unfortunately reminded, "So, we better spend it well!"


	17. Chapter 17

Upon entering the diner, Chloe made a beeline to the nearest booth and shuffled into it, instantly making herself comfortable. Smirking fondly as she trailed behind, Beca sat opposite Chloe and grabbed one of the tattered menu's. Chloe picked up her own and began to scan through the breakfast menu, commenting every so often on food items that caught her attention – She seemed especially keen on the pancakes with a fruit syrup.

An older but friendly faced woman approached their table. She had a friendly smile and greying hair tied up in a messy pony tail, with a notepad tucked into the front pocket of her apron, of which she quickly claimed along with the pencil stuck behind her ear. The woman (of who's nametag read 'Sue' ) gave a flash of a grin before saying, "Well aren't you two early risers?" in a voice with a welcoming sounding southern drawl; not all too native to the region, it seemed. "What can I get ya'?" She asked, looking between the two girls.

Chloe placed down her menu and cleared her throat, giving a smile to Sue. "I'll have a coffee with the pancakes -," she glanced to Beca, who was still looking unsurely at the various options, "- and she'll have the same."  
The Dj dropped her menu to the table, "Oh, I will, will I?" she retorted sarcastically but with good humour, "never knew you were a psychic there, Chlo'"

Sue chuckled as she scribbled down the order, "Don't you worry none, she made a good choice - best pancakes for miles I tell ya'!"  
Beca turned her head slowly away from Sue to look at Chloe, her expression comically sceptical: A single brow raised and a miniscule smile adorned on her lips. She looked at Chloe for a second before breaking the act and giving a small chuckled sigh, "Okay okay," She said, "I'll trust you on this one."  
Sue nodded her head, "Thanks, girls. If y'all need some condiments, they're on the side over there," She said, gesturing with her thumb. Chloe and Beca thanked Sue and at that, the woman walked away, looking down at her notepad.

Blissfully, Chloe reclined into her plush seat. "She was nice." The redhead commented absently as she traced the tiled pattern on the ceiling with her eyes and stared around at the various vintage posters that littered the walls. Beca agreed with a grunt. She put her hand into her pocket to reach for her phone, in hope that she could use it for the first time that week as unfortunately, the cabin lacked any service. She fumbled around her jeans; still, she couldn't find it.  
"Shit." She muttered upon realisation, "Chlo', I left my phone in the car."  
Chloe perked up suddenly, having not been listening prior and she smiled, "Oh that's a good idea, we should call Aubrey…I mean, I don't have my phone because it's still at the cabin so we could use yours."  
Beca looked a little lost, "Well sure…uh, but we can't use it if it's in the car, babe."  
" I thought you said you had it?"  
"No, I said it was in the car."  
"…Oh."

Chloe drummed her fingers against the table, "I'll go get it." She suggested just as Beca was about to slide out from the booth.  
"You sure?" Beca asked, wondering if she felt comfortable letting Chloe go outside when they didn't know the area too well. Though, she was quickly put into her place when Chloe gave an adamant smile, stood and traipsed out of the diner.  
Beca watched, her expression adoring as Chloe walked past the window and offered a playful wave.

Sue had by now approached the table with Beca's and Chloe's coffees and set them down. She gave Beca a wise but good natured smile when she saw how the Dj looked upon Chloe a few seconds prior. Beca may have noticed the woman's intelligent glance, had she not still been looking towards that spot by the window where Chloe had walked by, absently happy look spread across her features.

"Pancakes won't be a minute." Sue said.  
"Thanks." Beca replied mindlessly, neglecting her manners; with a knowing expression, Sue simply nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

Beca looked down at the table. She clasped her hands together and twiddled her thumbs awkwardly, realising she had nothing to do. Habitually, she reached for her phone and then paused, slowly curling her fingers into a fist when she remembered it wasn't with her, and with a small groan she slumped further into her seat.

She breathed out a huff and looked around at the diner. Pleasant enough, she thought, although she did quite like the almost homely interior – What with its simple decoration and worn furniture being clear signs that this place had truly seen some great days. Beca adjusted herself and leant forward a little, when suddenly she heard a sound coming from outside.

A sort of strangled scream that sounded suspiciously like Chloe.  
In fact, as Beca turned her ear to the sound, the owner of the voice only became clearer.  
Without a second to lose, Beca jumped out of the booth and sprinted across the diner; she shoved a shoulder into door as so it opened with ease and flew out onto the street.

Sharply, her head turned towards where they had parked and surely enough, Chloe was there. However a man, small and creepy looking was beside her. He looked at Beca with beady eyes, unfocused or drunk or in some other state of inebriation.

"A friend of yours?" He slurred, gesturing dumbly towards Beca.  
Chloe shoved him away, though she clearly shivered with fright and then, because of said feelings, consequently squealed when the guy slapped her ass with his hand. "More fun for me." He chuckled darkly, displaying his mouth of discoloured teeth as he grinned.

Beca grimaced, feeling a deep well of pity and anger for the man – whose attire pointed at his homelessness state and mannerisms pointed to a far worse problem. It was still early, barely past 7:25 and the guy was already drunk…or maybe he had never been sober in the first place.

Whatever the answer was, Beca wouldn't stand for it.  
"Hey, back off." She growled, taking a defensive step towards Chloe and tightening her petite hands into fists. Chloe shuffled towards Beca a short distance, only to be grabbed and pinned against the car by the drunken mess of a man. With protective fuelled hatred, Beca ran up to him and pushed him off and when he had regained his senses after stumbling a few ft., Beca slammed a fist into his face.  
He fell straight to the floor.  
Instantly, Beca gasped at her own abrasiveness, withdrawing her hands to cover her mouth as she whispered out a sharp "Oh shit."

Chloe clung to Beca side, breathing heavily.  
"Thank you." She whispered as she shook.  
Beca's expression softened, the anger and shock draining from her face and she smiled softly, embracing Chloe, "It's okay."

At that moment, Sue (of whom had only caught half the commotion) came to the diner's door and then let out a lengthy sigh.  
"He causin' you some trouble?" She asked, though she knew the obvious answer.  
Beca turned to Sue, "He attacked Chloe." She replied plainly, glowering.  
Sue stepped out of the diner and approached the girls; It was only then they noticed the shot gun in her hands, of which had initially been behind her back. It gleamed in the early morning sun, making its presence only appear more deathly.

She approached the homeless gentleman and tutted with disappointment. Beca had assumed the man was out cold, but then he turned his head towards Sue and let out an acknowledging groan.

"Agh, hey Sue." He grumbled indignantly, wiping his bloodied nose.  
"How many times have I told you not to mess with my customers, huh?" Sue said with an interrogating tone, shotgun warningly close to the guys face.

"Oh no," Chloe half squealed. She may have just been felt up by him, but she felt more uncomfortable with that gun in his face than she ever did with his hand on places it shouldn't have been, "he wasn't bothering me per say…I think he was just a little confused, is all."  
Chloe's voice was jittery and unconvincing – The result of a high flying heart rate and darkly wandering imagination– but she seemed adamant to show compassion.

Sue raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. She lowered her shotgun, giving a disappointed shrug "Alright, fine. Just get outta here John, and I'll let it slide this time."  
"Thanks." He murmured as he pulled himself up, gave both Beca and Chloe and creepy smile and stumbled away.

Sue looked at the girls, who still held one another tightly and her demeanour changed in an instance. She smiled kindly, going back to her friendly waitress façade with ease.  
"Alright girls, now that's done with - your pancakes are ready."  
She walked back into the diner, shotgun in hand, seemingly unaffected by the past couple of minutes.

Beca retrieved her phone from the car. When she shut the door and turned back to her girlfriend, all she saw were eyes that glistened. Chloe's true feelings –shock, fear, angst and overall confusion - it seemed, were beginning to seep into her expressions, following her brief period of adrenalized numbness.  
Beca pocketed her mobile, and linked Chloe's hands with hers. She squeezed them tightly and tried to give a reassuring expression, all whilst consoling Chloe as they walked slowly back to the diner.

"You're okay, Chloe, I'm here." Beca reminded softly and at that, Chloe gave the smallest hint of a smile.  
"It was only an unfortunate coincidence that guy was there." Beca assured, "And even so, I was there to try and stop him and I always will be there, Chlo'"  
Chloe couldn't help it; she giggled. Miraculously, the dark clouds that shrouded Chloe were kept away briefly with so much as a few sentences, although they still lingered as an afterthought.  
"You're such a cheeseball." She commented, but her gaze at Beca was only full of fondness.

"Always." Beca said with a playful smirk as she opened the door and allowed Chloe to enter, giving her a small kiss on the cheek as she passed. They returned to their booth and both grabbed their coffees. They had cooled considerably and were now at a good temperature for drinking.  
Chloe sipped from her cup, her eyes concentrating on the wood grain of the table.

Sue approached minutes later, placing the two plates of pancake's in front of them. She wished them a good meal and once more, returned to the kitchen.

Then they ate, Chloe suddenly quieter than before.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Beca asked. Chloe was picking slowly at her food, cutting it into small pieces and selectively eating it; she nodded.  
"Of course… Just a little irked y'know?"  
Beca's expression was understanding, "You're so strong, you know that?" Chloe didn't respond, "…Do you want to talk to Aubrey?"  
"Yeah, if that's okay."  
Beca smiled, "It's completely okay, you probably wanna talk to her more than me right now anyway. Probably a better distraction, right?"

Beca handed Chloe her phone and whilst Chloe dialled Aubrey's number (Which she was surprised Beca even had in the first place), the redhead gave a humoured shake of the head, "I'm not so sure about that, babe." She chuckled half-heartedly.

As Beca heard the dial tone, she mumbled to herself, smirking, "That's a first." And then she waited patiently for Chloe, continuing to eat her pancakes.

After a few seconds, Chloe made a noise of excitement and squealed a "Hey 'Bree!" down the phone, before she grinned at the sound of her best friend's voice. It was an instant change in personality again. To Beca, it seemed, that Chloe's emotionally heavy side that she hid from almost everyone (Yes, even Aubrey, surprisingly) had been pushed back once more. Beca didn't have time to consider the implications this must've had because Chloe wasn't busy chattering anyway, her voice loud and bouncy.  
Then, Chloe put it on loudspeaker, with the intention that Beca would have to talk to Aubrey also, much to the Dj's disdain.

"Well, say hello then Beca" Chloe insisted, flashing a grin. Playfully, Beca rolled her eyes before she sighed and said plainly towards the phone, "Hey Aubrey.", to which there was a small, but more relieved sigh from the other end.

"Ah, Good morning Beca," Aubrey's voice said in her usual firm tone, though it was highlighted with a hint of what Beca chose to understand as kindness, and it just sounded nicer in some way. "How's the vacation?"

Beca looked thoroughly surprised as Aubrey's civil attitude, so much so she took a few seconds to reply and it was just so the case that Chloe jumped in before her.  
"Well, it's pre-"  
"Oh my god, 'Bree, it's been amazing! The cabin is as cute as ever and the weather's been amazing and Beca and I went swimming by this small waterfall thing we found and we've watched movies and made a fort outside and-"

Aubrey gave a short laugh, thankfully cutting off Chloe's endless outpour of words. "So you and Beca have had fun then, hm?"

Beca shot Chloe a look, nervous looking. Of course, Beca knew that Aubrey had predicted what had happened, but Chloe wasn't in on the fact that Aubrey and Beca had talked prior to the vacation and so Beca assumed she should just act like no one knew anything at all.

Chloe exchanged an opposite look, confident and teasing. She hung on the last breath she had taken for a second. Beca made her expression more uncomfortable.  
Then, quickly, Chloe replied with a chipper (and ambiguous as ever), "Yep."  
Beca relaxed into a smile.

Aubrey was silent for a second.  
"Yep? Just 'yep'? …That's all you're saying? Come on Chloe, I'm your best friend."

Beca rolled her eyes and Chloe giggled. She mouthed a request to tell Aubrey and in response, Beca was hesitant, though eventually gave in when Chloe fluttered her eyelashes in a ridiculous fashion; She was just simply unable able to say no.

Chloe grinned at the mobile device, and then with an extended version of the word "Well," in which every syllable was drawn out painfully, she unloaded onto Aubrey their recent news.  
"Beca and I are together. We've had such a great time here Aubrey, and Beca, oh my god. You wouldn't believe how sweet she is."  
Beca blushed furiously, letting out a half cry of "Hey! I'm bad ass."

Aubrey gave a shocked gasp (Obviously exaggerated) and then squealed, "Oh Chlo', that's great to hear. Nice to know the hobbit has a soft side."

"Hey. I can hear you, and I'll tell you again – I'm bad ass."

Aubrey laughed, "Yeah yeah yeah, of course. Anyway, congrats. You'll be all the talk among the Bellas."

Beca scowled, "Wait do you mean-"  
"Of course not, they're probably all still asleep but they'll find out when you're back."

Chloe's expression widened, "Oh! How's New York?"

Aubrey went silent again. It wasn't a good sign and both Beca and Chloe looked at each other worriedly. Then, there was the sound of the phone being shuffled and a stifled sigh from the woman on the other end.  
Quietly, as if ashamed, Aubrey said, "We came home early."  
Chloe gasped, "What! Why?"  
"It wasn't the same without you two, truthfully." Aubrey admitted, "The other Bellas wanted you guys there and they didn't seem to be having much fun…"

Both Chloe and Beca smiled at each other; Beca grabbed Chloe's hand and gave it a squeeze, "Well Aubrey, we're back tomorrow." Beca said, in a more upbeat fashion than before, sensing that on the other end of the phone, Aubrey also felt their usually somewhat angsty dynamic beginning to falter.

"We certainly are!" Chloe pitched in, "And though I'll miss the cabin, it'll be great to see the Bellas again."  
Aubrey began a response, but Chloe cut in once more, "Alright, well it was great to catch up but I just forgot that I need to go do something, so I'll talk to you later. Great. Bye!" She gabbled the sentence out quickly and turned off call without so much as listening to Aubrey's farewell.

Once the phone had been returned to Beca, Chloe's smile shifted. It was still there, but it saddened slightly.

"What's wrong?" Beca asked.  
Chloe reached her hand out across the table, requesting Beca's to join it. Beca agreed graciously, linking her fingers with Chloe as she attempted to continue eating with her other hand. However, she gave up in this feat after a few stabs at a pancake and simply placed her fork down and stared at Chloe.  
Chloe gave a sigh, "That is what's wrong." She said nodding her head towards the phone.

"The phone?"  
"No Beca, Aubrey. I mean there's nothing wrong with Aubrey, but that conversation was so fake and I felt like I wasn't even me."  
Beca nodded. Finally, she understood. "It's the you that most people get to see…or well, hear, in this case."  
"I suppose."  
"Hey…when we're back, why don't you talk to Aubrey?"

Chloe was silent for a second. She bit her lip and her icy blue eyes seemed intense with her thought process. Chloe and Beca's hands joined hands gripped tighter with assurance, Beca nudging their position slightly as to garner a response.

"…I should do that." Chloe said simply.  
In agreement, Beca smiled, "I'll be there with you, if you want?"  
The redhead's gaze moved upwards, to reach Beca's eyes. Their stare was intense, raw and trusting and just so…homely.  
"I'd like that."

Beca gave a confident half smirk, "Then it's sorted. Now, eat up because if you want to see this town, you're going to need a full stomach."  
She may have not been entirely up to the idea anymore but nevertheless, Chloe complied because maybe, just maybe (call her crazy), she still wanted to the town…but only a tiny bit.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh god okay, I'm sorry.  
> My updates have been slow and not that great but school is just being a butt.  
> I've decided to give you a condensed chapter, which gives you story I wanted but in a smaller form. It's setting up for the next chapter (Which isn't M-rated, I'm sorry to say.), when we'll get to see sensitive!Beca once more.
> 
> ALSO, I realise that there was a huge screw up on my end in which I forgot to post a previous chapter. That should've now been fixed.

Beca and Chloe spent their day exploring the small town; entering a couple small shops Sue from the diner had mentioned. They spent money with ease (Or well…the money they did have – They were broke college students, after all) on small trinkets and gifts for the Bellas, all picked out, unsurprisingly, by Chloe.  
She'd pick it up and hold it out to Beca. Beca would then look at it, and ask why and who -Of course, Chloe had an answer for each item she purchased – and with a playful eye roll, direct Chloe to the register, where she'd buy it with a grin on her face.

It didn't go without saying that Beca herself had bought a couple small things – A few vinyl albums she'd found and a gift for Jesse, seeing as the guy would probably be upset if he didn't get something.

They traipsed out of (hopefully) their final shop for the day.  
Slowly, Beca shifted the bags she held in her hand so she could grab her phone. "11:15" She announced, a little surprised at how early it still was, despite the fact that she knew they'd only left the diner at 8:30am and even so, they had to walk around for an hour before any of the shops opened.  
"Really?" Chloe queried, jostling her handbag that had slipped from her shoulder.  
"No Chloe, it's midnight." Came Beca's deadpanned reply as she paused and slid the strap back up Chloe's arm, smiling softly as she did.  
Chloe simply giggled in response.  
"God, you're so cute when you do that." Beca mumbled.

They had continued to walk down the street. Chloe was smiling – A broad, beaming expression that lit her entire face and made her eyes glisten. It was that kind of smile that made Beca feel warmth in the pool of her stomach.

Beca looked to the floor, smiling to herself; giving a minute to appreciate the fact she was the one to bring that smile into existence.

Chloe nudged into Beca's shoulder, "Why ya' smiling like that, huh?"  
Beca rolled her eyes, smirking. "I don't know, maybe just because I got stuck with someone super beautiful and amazing."  
Chloe blushed a shade of red comparable to her hair and her smile cracked into a grin.  
"You're such a cheeseball!"  
"I've been told."

They reached an intersection in the sidewalk. Beca looked left, then right, then directly ahead. Her face was puzzled; she made a few gestures with her hands, drawing out directions with an index finger quizzically. From her lips came a few passive sounds – Some 'Mms' and 'Ahs' – which filled the silence whilst Chloe looked blankly in the direction they had just come.

Then finally.  
"So…where were we parked?"  
Chloe was silent and her lips twisted to the side as she bit the inside of her mouth nervously. Quietly, she left out a gentle chuckle. "I have no idea." She admitted.

Beca jiggled her various gift bags around once more. They were beginning to become a bit troublesome, she discovered.  
"Great." Beca sighed, though she couldn't help but release a humoured sigh. "I don't want to particularly stay out here too long, what with that guy from earlier still stumbling around. Let's just go right – I'm sure we came from there."

x-x-x

40 minutes of car searching and some misdirection's later, Beca and Chloe had returned to the cabin. They piled through the door and dropped their various bags to the floor, sighing with relief.

Beca instinctively grabbed her phone and looked with lost hope as she saw that; indeed, all of her reception had disappeared; she was once again cut off from the outside world.

"Damn" She mumbled, shoving the device back into her pocket.  
Chloe looked at Beca, curious, "What, no service?"  
"Nah... It's not like it's important I suppose, we didn't have service here anyway."

Chloe began to move Beca's bags also, putting them in a different place as to not mix up the two. Beca, busying herself with getting a soda from the fridge, allowed her to do so.

One bag tipped over, spilling its contents. Chloe let out a small "Oops" and scrambled to the floor to pick it up. Beca turned back around and smirked, "You're such a klutz, Chloe." She chuckled, before going over to help.

"We're gonna have to find some place in our luggage to put all of this, y'know? Like, when we're packing our stuff."  
Chloe shook her head, smiling, "Nah, we can just put it everything on the back seat of my car."  
"'kay." Beca grunted in agreement, "Shouldn't we start packing anyway?"

Chloe shrugged, still smiling absently; Beca rolled her eyes.  
"C'mon, are you seriously just gonna wait until the last minute?"  
She shrugged again and her face was now a girlish grin; a weird almost laugh, but not quite.  
"Seriously?" Beca's voice went high with her humouring disbelief.  
"Yes seriously," Chloe replied with a giggle, "Now come along, I need a shower."

Beca scowled, "How does that involve me? Do you need me to hold your hand because the shower is scary?"  
Chloe was the one to roll her eyes this time. "No."  
Beca looked at Chloe inquisitively, "Then why do-…" Chloe raised her eyebrows and slowly it dawned upon Beca. Her eyes seemed to widen and slowly, a sly smile appeared. "Oh."

Quickly, they stood. Chloe grabbed Beca's hand and lead her to the bathroom.  
Before they entered, Beca scratched her head awkwardly, not quite sure how to go about the feat.  
Chloe looked at Beca. Her expression was simple, inviting, but somewhat taut, provoking Beca to query.

"You look doubtful."  
Slowly, Chloe breathed out. "Not doubtful, just…nervous."  
"You don't have to do this." Beca brought her hand to cup Chloe's cheek and stroked her thumb across the soft skin in a soothing manner.  
"I know I don't babe, maybe I want to."  
Beca smirked gently, "Just don't push yourself too much too soon. Last night was pretty big, Chlo'."

Chloe gave a small, acknowledging nod and then opened the bathroom door. She went straight to the shower and turned it on, making sure the water was hot.  
She stared at the droplets of water for a few second, taking in their warmth and listening to their sound, like the ringing of drums. She could feel Beca approach her from behind and put her arms on her shoulders, pulling her back for an embrace.

Chloe smiled shyly, "…Maybe just an innocent shower together, no sex." She suggested, already feeling more comfortable at the proposition.  
Beca kissed Chloe's neck (for she couldn't reach her cheek), "Sure babe, just one question."  
"What?"  
Beca smirked.  
"Can we start packing afterwards?"

Chloe scoffed and nudged Beca away from her, "You're an ass."  
Beca began to remove her clothing, "I certainly am." She said, with a devilish grin.


	19. Chapter 19

Later in the day, after having showered, towelled their hair dry (Or, as well as a person can) and gotten changed into fresh clothing, Beca and Chloe laid on their bed. They faced one another, lying on their sides. 

“This feels like a cliché movie moment.” Beca said, almost sadly, “Like, when two people share an amazing journey and then they get a few moments of quiet before they gotta go back to their dull ass jobs and dull ass lives.” She shifted to lie on her back, facing the ceiling and shut her eyes, “You get what I mean?” 

Chloe let out a long, dramatic sigh. Slowly, she nodded and then turned onto her back also, linking her hands across her stomach. “I get you, Becs.” 

“We don’t have to go back.” Beca mumbled. It seemed Beca couldn’t get comfortable, for she rolled onto her side once more. Then, she ran a hand through her hair, “Let’s just follow all those movie clichés, eh?” And she grinned half-heartedly at Chloe.   
“You don’t even like movies.” Chloe said with a playing expression, all too aware of the fact she couldn’t figure out if Beca was being serious.   
Beca’s expression turned to a small, thoughtful smile. Chloe could see the cogs that ticked in her head and a moment later, Beca gave a smirk and chuckled to herself.   
“What?”   
“I was gonna say, well this is one movie that I wanna watch over and over again, but it’s a bad line, even for me.” 

Chloe gave a hearty laugh. She reached out to cup Beca’s face with a hand and she ran her thumb across Beca’s cheek. Beca gave an embarrassed grimace and blushed, giving a slight shake of her head.   
“You’re such a dork.” Chloe whispered.   
“Just don’t tell anyone.” Beca whispered back. 

Then, they were in silence. It was for an unmeasured amount of time – could’ve been a few minutes, could’ve been an hour - but it was peaceful and not entirely unpleasant. Chloe’s hand had snaked around Beca’s waist to pull her closer and Beca responded appropriately, resting her head in the dip of Chloe’s neck. There were shy smiles and light breathing, mixed with delicate scents of their significant other (Chloe smelled like her coconut shampoo; Beca faintly of her favourite body spray). The contours of Chloe and Beca’s bodies fitted together just right and it was in this that both Beca and Chloe realised they would love just love to lay and forget the world. Or moreover, become part of the world where gentle touches brought about a flush of redness to their cheeks and one kiss could never say enough and yet it also said everything they needed.   
Beca breathed out. She had been holding her breath; she wasn’t quite sure why.   
“Clichés aside, we gotta pack up.” She groaned out. 

However, when she went to shift off the bed, Chloe held her.   
“If you pack, then the end of this vacation is within reach and I don’t want that to happen, babe.”   
Beca nuzzled at Chloe’s neck, “We’ll come back, I’m damn sure we will.”   
Chloe giggled feebly and squirmed at how Beca’s nose tickled her. Eventually, a grin cracked on her face because simply, she was too ticklish to ignore it. “Okay okay, you’re right.” She chuckled out into the room, having to push Beca away slightly. 

This lead to Beca rolling finally rolling off the bed; she stood, adjusting her plaid shirt.   
“Well, y’know, I’m always right.” She mused sarcastically before she traipsed towards the door. She opened it and tapped a little pattern on wooden frame with her index and middle fingers thoughtfully for a second, turning back around a few seconds later to face Chloe again. She pointed outside the room with her thumb, “Do you, er, need me to grab your bags for you?”   
Chloe nodded, flashing an appreciative smile, “Yeah thanks.” 

Beca left the room and (after a few bangs that sounded like suitcases crashing on the floor) returned a few minutes later. Her face appeared flushed and in an almost annoyed manner she shoved their two cases on the bed beside Chloe, grunting with effort as she did.   
“Stupid, fucking, god damn, high up shelf.” She muttered, to which Chloe grinned, letting out a loud laugh at Beca’s sudden irritation. 

“Aw,” Chloe sympathised jestingly, “You could’ve just asked me to grab ‘em, you little cutie”   
Beca rubbed at her forehead where obviously one of the suitcases had fallen on her, scowling, “I’m not cute. I’m bad ass.”   
“Yeah, how amazing you’ve been over the last week really supports your argument.” Chloe deadpanned. Then, she cracked a grin and tried her hardest to not laugh at Beca but she couldn’t help herself – She was just so short and cute and annoyed! 

Now feigning her annoyance through a pout, Beca busied herself with her suitcase, unzipping and opening it and whilst she did this, muttered “I’m bad ass around other people.” 

Chloe simply rocked herself onto her knees and stretched across the bed to plant a kiss on Beca’s cheek, “of course you are,” she said, grinning against Beca’s skin.   
Playfully, Beca pushed her away, hiding a loving smile shyly as it would only further the degrading of her ‘bad-ass’ façade she spent so long building up. Well, perhaps around Chloe that wasn’t such a bad thing, but even so she wanted to keep up the pretend anger because it was so funny –moreover, adorable- to see Chloe try and convince her to be happy. 

Chloe rocked backwards, to lean again on the mattress. She kept her grin as she watched Beca continue to walk around the room, recollecting various articles of clothing that had been strewn around (Beca wasn’t one for keeping her stuff neat) and then without folding them, throw them into the case. When she turned around, Chloe would grab it out again and fold the article before replacing it. Beca noticed but did nothing apart from smirk. 

This happened for a good 10-15 minutes, with occasional comments, jabs, and playful jeers about Beca's packing skills; at one point even, Beca's worn socks were thrown against Chloe's face. They laughed hard, and for a moment, all sadness of leaving had disappeared. 

Chloe even began to pack her own stuff. It seemed helping Beca had brightened her mood somewhat, which was motivation enough to get up and actually do something. Happily, she opened up her suitcase and packed her stuff in a contrastingly neat fashion to Beca's. So much so, that when Chloe looked away, Beca purposefully pushed her hand against the smoothly folded clothes to crease them slightly, chuckling quietly to herself as she did. Chloe humoured the action and simply let it happen. Though eventually, she flopped back onto the bed and huffed. 

"This is getting boring." She hummed.   
Beca hummed back in agreement and threw the last of her t-shirts in the bag. "Yeah, but it's only just passed mid day." She grunted and then she moved her suitcase to the floor. She joined Chloe on the bed, instantly cradling into Chloe's arms. As much as she hated to admit it, she was smaller and if the situation arose, she realised at this moment she'd probably be the little spoon. She shook the thought.   
Earnestly, continuing from her previous point, she asked, "What else can we do?" 

Chloe shifted and used her hand to move a lock of hair from Beca's face. She smiled softly.   
"Let's go back to the waterfall."   
Beca smirked, "After we just showered and packed half our stuff?"   
Chloe's brows knitted together in thought, "Ah," she acknowledged aloud, giggling "Good point."   
Beca poked at the girl's scowl in a child like manner, innocently toying as she wore a simple content smile. "Let's just lay on the sofa and watch one of your movies." She suggested, causing Chloe to lean up on her elbows and stare incredulously. 

"Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?" Chloe asked, dead serious.   
Beca almost smiled like a dork at the mention of girlfriend (despite hearing it before, she still loved the word on Chloe's lips). However she pulled her mouth to a straight line and shrugged in a nonplussed fashion.   
"I don't know, Chlo'...It was nice when we watched that horror movie a few days ago. We could do that again?" 

Chloe shook her head, grinning, "I can't believe I'm hearing this!"   
Beca smirked, "Well you better believe it."   
"Or else what?"   
"Or else I'll kiss you, stupid." Beca retorted with her classic eye roll.   
Chloe grimaced, "Ew, I suppose I better believe it then."   
Beca playfully slapped her arm. 

Chloe then sat up and got off the bed. She trailed out of the room, hollering back to Beca "Well, if you wanna watch a movie, then we're gonna have to pick one out!"   
Beca smirked and followed her.   
"I've got only one condition." She replied, largely meeting the volume Chloe had to a humorous effect, "No musicals."   
Chloe tutted as she searched through a bag of DVD's.   
"I'm not making any promises."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so this is the end.   
> I’m so thankful to everyone who’s been reading the fic over the almost year it has taken me to write it and I’m so thankful to everyone who has reviewed this and followed this and such.  
> The ending may not be what you expected or wanted, unfortunately, but you see when I started writing this, Bechloe was my major ship. But times have changed and my passion for this fic has decreased…But I still promised to finish it. So this is me fulfilling that promise.  
> Btw, the song used at the end is an actual song and you should listen to it – It has such a deep meaning to me.

Beca was hoisting the last of their stuff into the car.   
loading up the luggage was the last thing on their agenda after having woken up, quickly showered and eaten a small breakfast. Fortunately, the past couple hours had flown by breezily, and the previous evening had ended with an oddly enjoyable movie (Ironically, said movie was a musical, despite Beca's clear aversion to them) and cuddling, so their was no unease about them. Apart from looking a little sullen earlier, Chloe was perky and Beca was...well, Beca - A gentle smile expressing all she needed to.   
Adamant to prove she wasn’t weak, Beca had declined Chloe's help with the bags, but it was becoming ever more apparent she was definitely not as strong as she'd thought.   
She huffed out a breath. 

"Okay," She muttered determinedly, "1...2...3!"   
She hauled with a ridiculous effort, arms straining against the overly full suitcase. It was perhaps, she thought, in vain to think she could lift it but miraculously, she managed it. But only just. 

Beca wheezed. "Jeez Chlo', what the hell do you keep in here? Bricks!?"   
Chloe hummed a giggle and reached down beside Beca to grab the final thing to be placed in the trunk. She lifted it with little to no effort and dumped it in the back. Beca stared, mouth agape. 

"How did you-" Beca was speechless.   
Chloe simply smiled. 

She traipsed around the car, towards the driver’s side and opened the door. She turned back, chucked the Cabin keys at Beca (who surprisingly managed to catch them) and told her to lock up whilst she started the car up and got ready to leave. 

Beca gave a small nod and walked back to the cabin. She opened its door one last time, swept her eyes across its furniture for any leftover items, and then shut the door. Sadly, she stared at the pane of glass that filled the door's frame. She looked at her reflection, and though her expression was sad, she looked...happier. It was in her posture; the way her fingers no longer curled themselves into awkward fists and the weight of her normally adorned scowl no longer marking her face.   
She felt better for having come here and she didn't want to leave. Perhaps even less than Chloe wanted to. 

Here, she was free to be carefree and true to herself - True with Chloe.   
She shook the thought. She knew she could make herself be true with Chloe anywhere; it was simply a matter of keeping her heart open, much like how Chloe had opened hers too.   
She shut her eyes and smirked: God she was so whipped. 

Smiling at herself idiotically, she put the key in the door and locked it. She turned to a plant pot that lay beside the door and placed the key underneath , as instructed in the information leaflet they had been given prior to the vacation. Then, with a content sigh, she stepped back away from the cabin and returned to the car. 

She opened the door, slid onto her seat and turned to Chloe with a sentimental smile.   
Chloe returned it and leaned in, Beca eagerly closing the gap so their lips met in the middle. The kiss was chaste but satisfying; Lips eager and willing but not frenzied. In the summer heat of a car, the kiss was sweet and reviving; in the wake of losing a week's worth of privacy, the kiss only reminded them both of what was to come. 

Then they parted, slowly. Beca's stomach dropped as if she had fallen in love with Chloe for the first time all over again.   
"Wow." Chloe breathed out, stifling a nervous giggle.   
Biting her lip almost seductively, Beca whispered back "Yeah".   
They stared in to each other's eyes for a moment and it was clear that the sudden tension could've not been higher if they tried. 

"I don't want to go, Becs." Chloe said quietly.   
"I know." Beca replied, voice equally as soft.   
"You promise that we'll come back?"   
Beca gave a crooked smile; she cupped Chloe's face with one hand. "Of course I do, I didn't say it earlier for nothin'"   
Chloe sighed out a laugh, "Okay." 

Beca cocked her head her head to the side, grinning. "So, we gonna go or not? I don't mind, but I kind of have classes to pass, unless you want my dad to haul my ass outta Barden so fast it'd leave you with whiplash." 

Letting out a genuine laugh, Chloe nodded. She sat back properly into her seat and started the engine. It turned over a few times before roaring into life - Obviously it needed a little TLC. 

Beca smirked as she did up her seatbelt, "This car has definitely seen better days."   
Chloe pouted childishly, "It's not that bad!"   
She was silent for a second.   
"Okay, maybe it is." 

Smirking still, Beca simply rolled her eyes good naturedly and remained quiet. Chloe put the car in gear and began to drive out. The car shifted uneasily out of the dents it had made in the gravel driveway, skidding a few times which earned a few small squeals from Chloe as the vehicle moved against the direction she turned. But she remained in control (fortunately!) and got it out onto the road. 

She took a deep breath and sighed sadly.   
"Well then, here we go." 

Slowly, unsurely, she drove down the road. Neither of them said anything and the silence that fell upon them entered the car and sat heavily. Beca looked through the three CD options they had listened to from their trip here - Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. 

Disappointedly, she chucked them back onto the dashboard where they had laid before.   
Then her eyes caught a small plastic CD sleeve tucked almost entirely underneath her seat. She reached down and picked it up, scowling as she read Chloe's scrawled handwriting. 

"Pretty.Odd." She read aloud, tasting the words in her mouth. It was a familiar name...a band name perhaps? 

"Oh." Chloe breathed out, suddenly smiling in a reminiscent fashion, "Yeah, Panic! At the disco...you heard of them? I think that album is their best."   
Beca smirked, "It's a little different from your usual tastes."   
Chloe nodded with a grin, "I like a little different sometimes." and she said that with such an intonation that Beca knew she wasn't just talking about music. 

Beca flickered her eyes between Chloe and the CD a couple times; she was intrigued.  
"May I?" She asked, holding it up to the CD player.   
"Go ahead, but skip to track 13."   
Beca put it in and pressed the 'next track button' repeatedly.   
A strum of guitar and renaissance sounding instruments came through the speakers. Chloe smiled and quickly moved her hand from the gear stick to Beca's hand and gave it a squeeze.   
They smiled simultaneously. 

"This is so weird...What's it called?" 

Chloe turned a corner and focused on the road for a few seconds. When she was finished she glanced to Beca.   
"It's called She Had The World...just listen." 

Beca leaned back into her seat and shut her eyes. With Chloe by her side and that feeling of dread drifting as their distance from the Cabin increased, she allowed herself to listen to the lyrics intently, her enjoyment in them increasing as they continued; 

"She said she'd won the world at a carnival   
But I'm sure I didn't ruin her   
Just made her more interesting   
I'm sure I didn't ruin her   
Just made her more interesting   
I, I know why   
Because when I look in her eyes, I just see the sky   
When I look in her eyes, well, I just see the sky"


End file.
